AI Voice Forgery "Bank + Public Security" Dual Customer Service: Luring Seniors to Transfer All Savings to "Safe Accounts"

Who Gets Targeted

The main victims are elderly people aged 70 to 90 living alone or as empty nesters, whose children are away for long periods, forming the habit of handling phone calls and bank operations with the mindset of "not troubling others." They lack awareness of verifying titles such as "grandson, son-in-law, bank customer service, and public security police," and panic immediately upon hearing a relative asking for help or an account being suspected of a crime. The scam exploits the elderly's anxiety about family affection, awe of "public security" authority, and reluctance to over-explain to tellers when conducting business alone, causing them to abandon risk judgment in extreme panic.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Voice Sample Collection. Scammers collect audio clips of the elderly's relatives and friends through short videos, voice messages, family groups, and other channels, using open-source or commercial AI tools to generate a clone voice capable of real-time conversation within minutes. Once the voices of "grandsons" and "sons-in-law" are replicated, subsequent calls are almost indistinguishable from reality, and the elderly drop their guard upon hearing the very first sentence.
• Step 2: Dual-Identity Serial Calling. They first call as "bank customer service," claiming that "your bank card is suspected of money laundering and the account will be frozen," and then transfer the call to an "investigating police officer" for verification. A few minutes later, another "relative" call comes in, crying out "Grandpa/Mom, I'm in trouble." The two calls corroborate each other, forming a dual psychological oppression of bank authority and family distress.
• Step 3: Inducing Call Forwarding. Under the pretext of "assisting the investigation" and "signal encryption," scammers demand that the elderly forward their mobile calls to a designated number, making it impossible for police, bank tellers, and real relatives to contact them. Fearing "implicating the grandson," the elderly usually comply, and external reminder channels are completely cut off, buying a time window for subsequent withdrawals.
• Step 4: Instructing to Call the Bank or Withdraw Cash. Claiming that "funds need to be remitted to a safe account for verification, otherwise they will be confiscated," they demand the elderly go to the bank counter to transfer money or make large cash withdrawals. If the elderly person says they do not know how to operate it, scammers will continue to direct them by saying, "Don't hang up, I will teach you step by step," and instruct them to "say it's to buy a house for the grandson if the teller asks" to evade bank inquiries.
• Step 5: Assigning Offline Handover. After the elderly withdraw cash, scammers assign "plainclothes police," "bank specialists," or ride-hailing drivers to pick up the cash and bank cards at locations such as community gates or park benches. To prevent the elderly from sobering up midway, they stay on the call the entire time, ordering the elderly to delete text messages, call logs, and even set the phone to airplane mode.
• Step 6: Quick Whitewash and Retreat. The illicit funds are immediately split and transferred into multiple accounts after withdrawal, or transferred layer by layer through virtual currencies and overseas accounts. Even if the police successfully intercept at the bank counter, most cases can only stop losses at the very last moment, and the transferred funds are extremely difficult to recover, with some cases only able to prosecute the downstream link of "offline withdrawal personnel".

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 The incoming call number is not an official bank customer service hotline, but a string of unfamiliar mobile numbers, overseas numbers, or network spoofed numbers, and they refuse call-backs for verification.
• 🚩 The "customer service" or "relative" repeatedly emphasizes "do not hang up" and "go to the bank immediately right now," demanding transfer, withdrawal, or remittance operations while staying on the call.
• 🚩 The script frequently uses terms like "safe account," "capital verification account," "money laundering case," and "turn off phone to assist investigation." Regular banks and public security organs will never ask the public to transfer money to so-called safe accounts.
• 🚩 Asking the elderly to use reasons such as "buying a house," "seeing a doctor," or "renovation" to explain the purpose of withdrawal to the bank, deliberately evading counter inquiries, which is a classic deceptive concealment behavior.
• 🚩 Additionally assigning ride-hailing, errands, or unfamiliar "staff" to come to the home to collect cash or bank cards. Formal financial institutions will not send people to collect cash privately on-site.

真实案例

• In February 2026, the Supreme People's Court released a typical case of telecommunication network fraud involving the elderly, clarifying that criminals used AI to simulate the voice of a "grandson" to commit fraud and arranged "offline withdrawal personnel" to collect stolen money on-site. The relevant withdrawal personnel were punished according to law, and the case details were reprinted by multiple central media outlets. (Source: [https://sichuan.scol.com.cn/ggxw/202604/83242993.html](https://sichuan.scol.com.cn/ggxw/202604/83242993.html))
• At the end of 2025, an elderly person in Lanzhou received an AI-simulated "grandson" voice call claiming an emergency and needing 50,000 yuan. Believing it to be true, the elderly person rushed to the bank to remit money. Bank staff discovered the elderly person filling out a remittance slip while on the phone and called the police. The police-bank linkage successfully stopped the loss, and local police reported this case.
• In April 2026, Sichuan Online reported the local emergence of AI technology "precisely hunting" the silver-haired generation, where criminals on the one hand used AI voice calls in the style of "biological grandson asking for help" to demand cash, and on the other hand used false emotional personas like "CEO Jian Guo" to "confess love" to elderly women, harvesting both emotions and money.
• Xinhua News Agency investigation report on April 28, 2026: At the end of last year, Ms. Wang in Jinchang City received an AI voice call claiming to be the official customer service of a short video platform. The other party induced her to download an app and perform remote operations under the guise of "opening a live-streaming membership and automatic monthly deductions of 800 yuan." After her phone screen went black for a dozen seconds, over 100,000 yuan in her card was transferred away. The Jinchuan Branch of the Jinchang Municipal Public Security Bureau in Gansu Province cracked the case, capturing 8 criminal suspects. Victims exceeded 20 people, mostly elderly, with total involved funds exceeding 3 million yuan. (Source: [https://www.news.cn/legal/20260428/ccc23e82b9574c7ca1a641d0d10bbf26/c.html](https://www.news.cn/legal/20260428/ccc23e82b9574c7ca1a641d0d10bbf26/c.html))
• On December 13, 2024, Gumoumou received a call claiming to be Douyin customer service, stating that they had opened a Douyin live-streaming membership and would have 5,000 yuan deducted monthly if not closed, and then induced them to make a QQ voice call, instructing them to scan a code and transfer 76,066.06 yuan under the guise of a refund. The Yinchuan Public Security Bureau (Yongning County Public Security Bureau) released this real case on December 23, 2024, analyzing the "dual customer service" routine: Step 1 impersonate Douyin customer service, Step 2 transfer to a "bank customer service specialist" to demand funds be transferred to a designated account under the excuse of "verifying accounts" and "capital verification." (Source: [https://police.yinchuan.gov.cn/zzb/afkt/202412/t20241223_4766877.html](https://police.yinchuan.gov.cn/zzb/afkt/202412/t20241223_4766877.html))

Official Stance

• On April 28, 2026, Xinhua Net published "Xinhua Investigation | Beware of AI 'Customer Service' Phone Scams," pointing out that AI voice synthesis technology has been used to impersonate bank customer service and public security/procuratorate/court personnel to commit telecommunication fraud, and reminding the elderly to guard against the script of "transferring to safe accounts."
• On February 26, 2026, the Supreme People's Court released typical cases emphasizing the strict punishment according to law of personnel who use AI to "play the grandson" to scam the elderly and organize offline cash withdrawals, making it clear that such behavior has violated Article 266 of the Criminal Law.
• On April 21, 2026, China Chang'an Net reprinted the People's Daily report on Huangshi Police, disclosing that the local police-bank linkage mechanism implemented rapid interception against AI "customer service" type scams.
• On December 15, 2025, CNR published "'Hearing is Believing' AI Voice Mimicry Scams Have Duped Multiple Seniors," suggesting that AI voice mimicry has entered a commercialized, low-cost stage, and elderly people may be defrauded of trust during calls without even downloading software.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Agree on a "call-back verification" rule with the elderly: After receiving a call claiming to be a relative borrowing money, hang up first, call back using the original number saved in the contacts to confirm, and never directly call back the other party's incoming number or use their transferred line.
• ✅ Set up family code words: Agree on an exclusive code word at home. Anything involving transfers, remittances, or cash withdrawals must first be matched with the code word; any mismatch is strictly regarded as fraud.
• ✅ Install the "National Anti-Fraud Center" app on the elderly's phone and enable incoming call alerts, while activating international call blocking and harassing call blocking functions on carrier platforms to reduce overseas spoofed calls.
• ✅ When a bank teller finds an elderly person making a large transfer or withdrawal while on the phone, they should proactively ask about the purpose and suggest video confirmation with family members; if the elderly person is obviously panicked and has contradictory words and actions, immediately suspend business and contact the local police station to initiate police-bank linkage persuasion.