Fake kidnappers simulate teen’s voice through AI, use it to demand ransom from her mother

An AI-generated hoax had an Arizona mother panicking after receiving a call from a man claiming that her teenage daughter had been kidnapped.

Jennifer DeStefano, a mother from Scottsdale, Arizona, received the call about her 15-year-old daughter, Brie, while she was at a dance studio with her other daughter.

Initially hesitant to answer as the call came from an unknown number, she decided to pick up as she was concerned about Brie who was on a ski trip out of town.

The call began with Brie’s voice repeatedly saying her name, sobbing and sounding terrified, before an unknown man’s voice took over.

The man claimed to have taken Brie hostage, threatened to harm her and demanded a $1 million ransom from DeStefano to rescue her daughter.

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