Deepfake worries hit a new high as one in four Americans say they have received a deepfake voice call in the past 12 months experts blame 'the weaponization of AI'

Date:
Sat, 14 Mar 2026 16:10:00 +0000

Description:
Deepfake AI voice scams are rising, spam calls overwhelm users, and many Americans demand carriers take responsibility for protection.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get the TechRadar Newsletter Sign up for
breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter One in four Americans report receiving deepfake voice calls in twelve months Spam calls are increasing rapidly, averaging nearly ten unwanted calls weekly AI allows scammers to clone voices with minimal effort now New research has raised serious concerns about the increase in deepfake voice fraud, as more consumers report encountering suspicious calls that imitate familiar voices.

A new survey of over 12,000 consumers by Hiya across the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, and Spain suggests that these incidents are no longer rare
or isolated. The report found one in four Americans received a deepfake voice call during the past twelve months, and another 24% said they are unsure whether they could reliably distinguish between an artificial voice and a
real person during a phone call. Article continues below You may like 'Weaponized AI' could be the biggest security threat facing your business
this year - here's what experts say you should be on the lookout for AI security scams are on the rise - heres what you need to know to stay safe AI and deepfakes are proving to be a security nightmare for businesses
everywhere Spam calls continue to expand The report argues that the growing availability of generative AI tools has accelerated what it calls the weaponization of AI.

Scammers are weaponizing AI to clone voices and steal from vulnerable people, and the bad guys are simply moving faster than legacy network defenses. We cannot expect everyday people to outsmart artificial intelligence on their own, said Alex Algard, CEO & Founder of Hiya.

We are in an arms race where scammers are using AI as a weapon, which means operators have to use AI as a shield.

Scammers now imitate voices with far less effort than before, and these deepfake impersonation attempts often involve relatives or trusted contacts. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

This can lead to financial fraud or identity theft when victims believe they are responding to a legitimate request.

American respondents reported receiving an average of 9.9 unwanted calls
every week, which amounts to more than 500 calls each year.

These calls target seniors (55+), who lose an average of $1,298, three times more than what younger adults lose - with the volume of this scam has been rising at a compound annual rate of 16% since 2023. What to read next Deepfakes and distrust: how human provenance can rebuild digital confidence 'People dont trust bad AI voices': listeners rated a Chinese startup's synthetic voices higher for trust and realism than those from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Why are your favorite celebs selling their voices to this AI company?

About 48% of Americans say spam calls are worsening, outnumbering those who report improvement by roughly three to one.

The trend appears across multiple countries included in the survey. Consumers across the six markets reported receiving an average of 7.4 unwanted calls weekly.

French respondents reported the highest volume of unwanted calls, while British respondents reported the highest financial losses among scam victims.

In all of this, what are the telecom operators doing about it? This is the anchor question consumers have been asking.

When asked who is winning the ongoing struggle between carriers and scammers, respondents chose scammers by nearly two to one.

This perception may also affect customer loyalty. Around 38% of users say
they are likely to switch providers if they feel their current carrier cannot protect them.

Many users (72%) are now calling for stricter government rules requiring telecom companies to respond to such AI-driven scams.

Some respondents also believe carriers should share responsibility for scam losses originating on their networks.

About 67% of users support some level of financial liability, while 55% favor zero-liability protections similar to those used by credit card companies. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/deepfake-worries-hit-a-new-high-as-one- in-four-americans-say-they-have-received-a-deepfake-voice-call-in-the-past-12- months-experts-blame-the-weaponization-of-ai


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