- Scam Alert
- AI Voice Clone
- Senior Safety
- Scamwatch
- Impersonation
The National Anti-Scam Centre reports $2.18B in 2025 scam losses, with AI voice-clone family emergency calls emerging as a major threat to older Australians.
AI Voice-Clone Calls Emerge as Top Family Threat in 2026
Australians reported $2.18 billion in scam losses across 2025, according to the National Anti-Scam Centre's latest Targeting Scams report. Reporting compiled by INS LifeGuard, a personal alarm provider for elderly and NDIS participants, indicates that AI voice-clone scams have become the most alarming development for families, with criminals using short voice samples taken from social media, voicemail or video posts to impersonate distressed loved ones over the phone.
Investment scams, payment redirection, romance scams, phishing and remote access scams ranked among the highest-loss categories for the year. The shift toward AI-driven impersonation marks a change in how unknown numbers are being used to pressure Australians into fast payments.
What the Reports Describe
Scamwatch warns that cloned voices are now being deployed to call victims while posing as a friend or family member in distress. Typical scripts include claims of a car accident, an arrest, a stolen phone or an urgent need for money, often framed with a request for secrecy such as asking the victim not to tell anyone.
The pattern relies on triggering panic so a target acts before verifying. Contributors describe callers phoning from unknown numbers, claiming their own phone is broken, and demanding payment through bank transfer, gift cards or cryptocurrency. One community report shared with INS LifeGuard described a caller posing as eBay staff who claimed a gift voucher had been purchased on the account, then attempted to walk the recipient through their phone settings before the call was ended.
Pattern and Context
Older Australians remain disproportionately affected. The National Anti-Scam Centre report notes that this group accounts for 26.5 per cent of overall losses reported to Scamwatch, despite making up around 17.1 per cent of the population. The agency attributes this to a higher likelihood of answering unknown calls, greater trust in claimed authority, and the presence of savings, superannuation or pension funds.
Voice-clone scams sit alongside related impersonation tactics targeting seniors, including government impersonation scams referencing the ATO, Medicare, myGov and Centrelink, tech support scams, and bank impersonation calls. Remote access scams, where callers pose as representatives of banks, the NBN, Telstra or PayPal and request installation of software such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer, continue to rank among the highest-loss categories nationally.
What Australians Should Do
Because cloned audio can closely match a real voice, verification through a separate channel is the most reliable defence.
- Hang up on a distressing call and ring the loved one back on their usual number
- Agree on a family safe word or verification question that does not appear on social media
- Do not rely on the sound of a voice alone to confirm identity
- Never send money under pressure, and contact another family member before transferring funds
- Refuse remote access requests from any unsolicited caller and end the call immediately
- Never share one-time passcodes or banking logins over the phone
Scamwatch summarises its guidance as Stop, Check, Protect: pausing before acting, verifying through a trusted channel, and protecting personal details even when a call feels genuine.
How to Report and Check Numbers
Australians who receive a suspicious call can report it to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au, and should contact their bank immediately if money has been sent. Suspicious text messages can be forwarded to 0429 999 888 for assessment. Checking an unfamiliar number against community reports on Reverseau can reveal whether other contributors have flagged the same caller for impersonation or scam behaviour, adding a verification step before any money changes hands. The combination of independent verification and community signal remains the most practical guard against fear-driven phone scams.