The National Privacy Commission (NPC) warned the public about the “call bot scam” which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make phone calls that sound real.
The agency said the scam uses AI to victimize callers by pretending to be from banks, delivery services, or government agencies.
Recorded or AI-generated voices are used. The NPC also said that it can “even mimic real people’s voices,” an act known as voice cloning.
“These calls are designed to trick you into giving personal or financial information,” the NPC said.
It also explained how the modus operandi works, including callers creating a sense of urgency and asking for details such as personal data, payments or transfers, and OTPs (one-time pins) or verification codes.
The NPC advised the public to refrain from answering unknown or unregistered numbers, to let the caller speak first, to end suspicious calls immediately, and to report scams to the agency and other authorities.
“Sa panahon ngayon, kahit boses pwede nang gayahin. Baka hindi na pala tao ‘yang kausap mo sa phone,” it said in a post.
“At isang maling sagot o pagbibigay ng impormasyon, pwedeng malagay sa alanganin ang inyong data pati na rin ang inyong security. Ugaliing magduda. Mag-verify. Huwag magpapadala sa urgency or pressure,” the NPC added.
