A 50-year-old Wildwood woman lost $2,500 in a phone scam after reportedly being tricked into believing her daughter was in danger. Somone used AI technology to simulate her daughter’s voice to fake a kidnapping, Eureka Police reported.
The woman called police at about 2 p.m. March 27 from the Walgreens pharmacy, 250 E. Fourth St., to report the fraud. She had gone to the pharmacy to wire money to a man demanding payment for her daughter’s safety, but she learned her daughter was not kidnapped before sending the money, the report said.
Before going to Walgreens, however, the woman sent $2,500 to a location in Mexico from Walmart, 131 Eureka Towne Center Dr., according to the report.
The woman told police she received a call at about 12:30 p.m. that day from an unknown man who said her daughter had run into his car, and he kidnapped her because he was transporting drugs and the girl had taken pictures of his car, the report said.
The woman said she attempted to locate her daughter on a phone app but was unsuccessful. She said she believed the accident could have occurred because her daughter had come home for lunch that afternoon before returning to Eureka High School, according to the report.
The woman said when the man first called, he told her not to hang up and that he would release her daughter at a public place. He instructed the woman to go to Walmart, and after she arrived at the store, the man told her she was being watched and she needed to transfer money to him if she wanted to talk to her daughter again, according to the report.
After the woman sent the money at Walmart, the man told her to go to Walgreens. She said she did not see anyone following her at Walgreens, and she called police while inside the business. Also while she was at Walgreens, the app showed her daughter was at the high school. The police she called checked with Eureka High’s school resource officer, who confirmed the woman’s daughter was at the school, the report said.
“This is done using AI technology to get a family members voice from social media videos, and it has become a common scam,” Chief Michael Werges said. “We recommend families have a safe word to identify themselves over the phone to avoid this scam.”
Werges also said as of April 15, the money had not been recovered, and no suspects had been identified. He said if anyone believes they are being scammed, they should call Eureka Police at 636-938-6600.