State Department cable says an impostor used AI voice and text messages to pose as Secretary of State Marco Rubio to foreign ministers and US officials
A State Department cable dated 3 July 2025, sent to all US embassies and consulates and reported by The Washington Post, AP and The Guardian, said an impostor posing as Secretary of State Marco Rubio had contacted at least five senior officials, including three foreign ministers and a US governor, by text, Signal and voicemail, with the aim of gaining access to information or accounts. According to AP, two senior officials and the cable described the attempts as using technology driven by artificial intelligence; the Guardian reports that the messages mimicked Rubio's voice and writing style. The department said it was investigating and advised all employees and foreign governments. One official told AP the attempts had been unsuccessful; the technical basis for the AI description was not disclosed.
- AI system
- Unidentified voice-cloning tool
- Occurred
- Jun 2025 to Jul 2025
- Reported
- 8 July 2025
- Event location
- Unknown
- What the AI did
- Depicted or impersonated the person
- Reported harm
- Reputational Harm
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Work · Public services
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
- 3 claims: 3 reported. 3 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: AI technology used to send voice and text messages imitating the Secretary of State, as described by State Department officials and a department cable; no tool is identified
What Happened
The cable. A State Department cable dated 3 July 2025 and sent to all embassies and consulates warned that an impostor posing as Secretary of State Marco Rubio had tried to reach at least three foreign ministers, a governor and a member of Congress (AP says a US senator). The messages were sent by text, Signal and voicemail; the cable said the impostor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and invited others to communicate on the platform. According to the Guardian, the cable said the account was created in mid-June 2025 and that the goal had been gaining access to information or accounts.
The AI attribution. AP reports that the department warned diplomats of attempts to impersonate Rubio using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and the cable; the Guardian reports that the voice messages and texts mimicked Rubio's voice and writing style. The sources do not state how the department established that AI was used, and no tool is named.
The response. A department spokesperson said the department was aware of the incident and was monitoring and addressing it, and declined further comment for security reasons. One official told AP the attempts had been unsuccessful and not very sophisticated; another said the department deemed it prudent to advise all employees and foreign governments. The cable said there was no direct cyber threat to the department, but that information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals were compromised.
Limits. The recipients are not identified and no recipient is reported to have been deceived; the Guardian's subheading says the messages tricked senior leaders, which AP's official contradicts. The Washington Post report that first described the cable could not be read.
Reported harm
According to a State Department cable and officials quoted by AP and the Guardian, an impostor used AI voice and text messages in the Secretary of State's name to contact senior officials, and the department opened an investigation and warned all diplomatic posts and foreign governments. No recipient is reported to have been deceived.
Outcome
UnknownThe State Department said it was aware of the incident and investigating; it sent the 3 July 2025 cable to all embassies and consulates and, according to an official quoted by AP, advised all employees and foreign governments. No perpetrator has been identified in the sources read.
What remains unknown
- Who sent the messages and which AI tool was used.
- How the department established that AI was used.
- Whether any recipient replied or shared information; the Guardian subheading and an AP-quoted official differ.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. AP reports that two senior State Department officials and the department's 3 July 2025 cable described the attempts to impersonate the Secretary of State as using technology driven by artificial intelligence, and the Guardian reports from the cable that the voice messages and texts mimicked his voice and writing style. The department, which was investigating the incident and whose cable describes the account's creation in mid-June and the Signal voicemails left for at least two targets, is the party making the attribution; it is the impersonated Secretary of State's own department. The AI-generated messages impersonated the Secretary of State toward senior officials, which led to the investigation and the warnings to all posts and foreign governments. The technical basis for the AI attribution is not disclosed in the sources read, and no tool is identified.
3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported A State Department cable dated 3 July 2025 said an impostor posing as the Secretary of State had attempted to reach at least three foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of Congress by text, Signal and voicemail, leaving Signal voicemails for at least two of them.
Causal attribution. The cable as reported by AP and the Guardian (one origin); the two accounts differ on whether the legislator was a senator or a member of Congress.
- npr.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
'an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable'; 'which were sent by text, Signal and voice mail'
- theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals'; 'three foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of Congress'
Reported According to AP, two senior officials and the cable described the impersonation attempts as using technology driven by artificial intelligence; the Guardian reports that the messages mimicked the Secretary of State's voice and writing style.
Causal attribution. The State Department's attribution as relayed by AP and the Guardian; its technical basis is not disclosed.
- npr.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
'using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates'
- theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'the impostor sent fake voice messages and texts that mimicked'
Reported The department said it was investigating, sent the cable to all embassies and consulates and advised all employees and foreign governments; one official said the attempts had been unsuccessful and not very sophisticated.
Causal attribution. Statements by department officials as reported by AP and the Guardian.
- npr.org(opens in new tab) supports · English
'The hoaxes involving Rubio had been unsuccessful and "not very sophisticated," one of the officials said'; 'advise all employees and foreign governments'
- theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'is currently investigating the matter'
Sources
2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- NPR (Associated Press), 9 July 2025: Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and U.S. officials(opens in new tab)
s1 · npr.org · News report · English · Inspected · 9 July 2025 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source · Primary
- The Guardian, 8 July 2025: AI scammer posing as Marco Rubio targets officials in growing threat(opens in new tab)
s2 · theguardian.com · News report · English · Inspected · 8 July 2025 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-14 (HTTP 200). NPR's copy of an Associated Press report; AP had a copy of the cable and spoke to two senior officials. Applies to s1.
Read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-14 (HTTP 200). The Guardian says it confirmed the cable first reported by The Washington Post; same origin as the AP report. Applies to s2.
Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.
The cable was sent by the US State Department, and the recipients included foreign ministers and US officials whose locations are not stated; where the messages were sent from or received is not stated, so no event country is recorded. No affected-person country is inferred from the official's office.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-14: Published because AP and the Guardian report a State Department cable and officials stating that an impostor used AI-driven voice and text messages to pose as the Secretary of State to senior officials, and that the department investigated and warned all posts and foreign governments.
People described
The US Secretary of State, whose identity was used in AI-assisted messages to senior officials; named as a public official.
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed
One person: the Secretary of State, whose identity was used and whose department responded with an investigation and warnings. The at least five officials who received messages are not counted, because no adverse consequence is reported for them (an official said the attempts were unsuccessful).
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). State Department cable says an impostor used AI voice and text messages to pose as Secretary of State Marco Rubio to foreign ministers and US officials. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-us-state-department-cable-says-impostor-used-ai-voice-and-text-messages-to-pose-as-secretary-of-state
BibTeX
@misc{2025_us_state_department_cable_says_impostor_used_ai_voice_and_text_messages_to_pose_as_secretary_of_state,
title = {State Department cable says an impostor used AI voice and text messages to pose as Secretary of State Marco Rubio to foreign ministers and US officials},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-us-state-department-cable-says-impostor-used-ai-voice-and-text-messages-to-pose-as-secretary-of-state}
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