AI Voice and Deepfake Scams in Australia: What to Watch For

For a long time, hearing a loved one’s voice on the phone was proof enough that it was really them. New tools have changed that. With only a few seconds of recorded speech, scammers can now make a computer copy of almost anyone’s voice, then use it to make a call that sounds genuinely like your son, daughter or grandchild.

This sounds alarming, and it is worth knowing about, but the defence is simple and the same calm habits that protect you from other scams work here too. This guide explains what these scams are, in plain English, and the one easy thing every family can do to stay safe. For more ways to protect yourself online, see our complete guide to staying safe online.

What an AI voice scam sounds like

The call comes through sounding like someone you love, and they are upset. The story is an emergency: they have had an accident, they are in trouble, they have been arrested, or their phone is broken and this is a friend’s number. They need money urgently, and they need it kept quiet. The fear and the hurry are the whole point. They are there to stop you pausing to think.

The voice can be very convincing, because it is built from real recordings, often taken from videos people have shared online. A deepfake is the same idea applied to pictures or video, where a face or a recording is altered to look real. You may also see deepfakes used in fake celebrity endorsements for investments, which is covered in our guide on investment scams.

The one habit that protects you

You do not need to become an expert at spotting a fake voice. You only need one rule: when a call asks for money or sensitive details, end it and call the person back on the number you already have saved. If it was really them, they will answer and you can sort it out. If it was a scam, you have just stepped around it completely.

A family code word makes this even simpler. Agree a word or short phrase with your children and grandchildren, something an outsider would not know. If a worrying call comes in, ask for the code word. A scammer will not have it.

Other quiet signs to notice

• Strong urgency and a request to keep the call secret from the rest of the family.
• A request to pay in an unusual way, such as gift cards, a money transfer, or cryptocurrency.
• A new or unknown number, with the excuse that their own phone is lost or broken.
• The caller avoids answering simple questions only the real person would know.

These same pressure tactics turn up in phone scams of every kind. Our guide on phone call scams in Australia covers the bank, the ATO and Centrelink versions that often arrive the same way.

How common is this in Australia?

Voice cloning is still a newer trick, but scams overall are a serious problem here, and older Australians are hit hardest. The National Anti-Scam Centre’s latest Targeting Scams report put combined losses at about $2.18 billion in 2025. People aged 65 and over are only around one in six Australians, yet they accounted for roughly a quarter of the money lost through Scamwatch. That is not a reason to be fearful, but it is a good reason to keep the simple call-back habit in mind, and to share it with the family.

If a call like this catches you out

If you have sent money, contact your bank straight away and ask them to stop or trace the payment. Then report the scam through the official Australian channels:

• Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au. This is an online report form, run by the National Anti-Scam Centre. Scamwatch does not have a phone line.
• ReportCyber at cyber.gov.au if money or accounts are involved, or call the free Australian Cyber Security Hotline on 1300 292 371, open 24 hours.
• IDCARE on 1800 595 160, a free service that helps if your identity or personal details have been exposed.
• If you are in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000). For other police matters, the Police Assistance Line is 131 444.

If your bank cannot recover the money and you are not happy with how it handled things, you can take a free complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) on 1800 931 678. It also helps to limit how much of your voice and video is public online, and to talk through the code word idea with the whole family, including the grandchildren who post the most.