Office of the Registrar

From: Cascades Campus Safety 

Safety Notice OSU-Cascades Campus

Safety Notices inform the OSU-Cascades community of recent incidents regarding personal safety and/or the protection of property. Please read the following information carefully to make informed decisions about your safety and property.

Reported Event: OSU-Cascades was informed of two phone scams which appeared to utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated voice impersonation.  This type of fraud involves someone using AI voice technology gleaned from social media posts or other sources to impersonate a family member.  Criminals will impersonate a member of the family and pretend that the family member is in trouble.  They will then tell the victim (the receiver of the call) that the family member needs money to resolve the emergency.  With generative AI, criminals can mimic voice clips, then defraud a family member into paying a ransom or sending money.

Campus Safety Response Options:  If you suspect you are the victim of a cyber-crime such as an AI generated fraud scam contact local law enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

To identify potential fraudulent scams, look for possible indicators:

• Callers go to great lengths to keep you on the phone, insisting you remain on the line.
• Calls do not come from the supposed victim’s phone.
• Callers try to prevent you from contacting the “victim” of the kidnapping, medical emergency etc.
• Calls include demands for ransom money to be paid via wire transfer; ransom amount demands may drop quickly.

If you receive a phone call from someone demanding a ransom for an alleged victim of a kidnapping or other emergency, the following should be considered:

• In most cases, the best course of action is to hang up the phone.
• If you do engage the caller, do not say the family member’s name.
• Agree on a code word or phrase that your family members will use when they are in trouble.
• Do not share information about yourself or your family.
• Listen carefully to the voice of the alleged victim if they speak.
• Attempt to contact the alleged victim via phone, text, or social media, and request that they call back from their cell phone to make certain they are safe.
• Do not agree to pay a ransom, by wire or in person. Delivering money in person can be dangerous.
• Do not communicate further with the caller and block the number.

If you suspect a real kidnapping is taking place or you believe a ransom demand is a scheme, contact your nearest FBI office or local law enforcement immediately.

To further protect yourself from AI-voice cloning scams and help prevent your voice from being used for one of these schemes:

• Lock down your social media accounts to private.
• Reconsider using voiceprints and vocal biometric verification to access accounts.
• Reconsider leaving voice samples or voice audio on social media that can be cloned and manipulated.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, dial 911. 

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center - www.ics.gov