Tech firms are fighting the scourge of deepfakes, those deceptively realistic voices or videos used by scammers that are more available than ever thanks to artificial intelligence.

Ever-improving generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools have become weapons in the hands of bad actors intent on tricking people out of their money or even their identities.

Debby Bodkin tells of her 93-year-old mother receiving a telephone call, a cloned voice claiming, "It's me, mom... I've had an accident."

When asked where they were, the machine-made impersonator named a hospital.

Fortunately, it was a granddaughter who answered the phone, opting to hang up and call Bodkin at work where she was safe and well.

"It's not the first time scammers have called grandma," Bodkin told AFP. "It's daily."

Such deepfake phone scams typically go on to coax victims into paying for medical care or other made-up emergencies.

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© International Business Times