‘Here Scam Alert!’ Berkshire County DA’s Office Looks Into Phone Schemes Targeting Elderly

The County of Berkshire — At least two phone scams that target senior adults in Berkshire County are being looked into by the District Attorney’s Office.

The ability to clone a relative’s voice using artificial intelligence has made scammers more sophisticated.

The FCC refers to this kind of fraud as a “grandparent scam,” according to an email from the District Attorney’s Office.

Through social media mining or purchasing data from cybercriminals, the scammer manages to obtain the personal details of a victim in order to “create a storyline to prey on the fear of grandparents” by posing as a grandchild or close relative who needs money.

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The ability to clone a relative’s voice using artificial intelligence has made scammers more sophisticated.

The websites of the FCC and the US Postal Inspection Service include more details about “grandparent scams.”