{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-07T03:09:10.202Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"voice-cloning","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"regulatory","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":1,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":2,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2025-rome-carabinieri-say-fraud-suspects-used-ai-to-clone-relatives-voices-in-calls-to-mostly-older-victims","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"44 persone, presunte responsabili di 39 episodi di truffe riuscite o tentate tra il novembre 2025 e maggio 2026.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"I Carabinieri della compagnia di Roma centro hanno individuato i presunti responsabili di ben 39 episodi di questo tipo, denunciando 44 persone.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The Carabinieri of the Compagnia Roma Centro reported 44 people to the judicial authorities as the presumed perpetrators of 39 completed or attempted frauds committed between November 2025 and May 2026.","causal_attribution":"Several outlets relaying one Carabinieri statement; one origin, so reported."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"L’attività investigativa dei Carabinieri della Compagnia Roma Centro ha permesso inoltre di ricostruire il modus operandi degli indagati: dal falso contatto, con i truffatori che inviavano sms o telefonavano alle vittime spacciandosi per operatori bancari o appartenenti alle forze dell’ordine, all’uso della tecnologia, con l’utilizzo per l’appunto dello “spoofing” telefonico per camuffare il numero del chiamante e di software di intelligenza artificiale per clonare la voce di parenti","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"oppure utilizzavano software di intelligenza artificiale non solo per camuffare il numero del chiamante ma anche per clonare la voce di parenti.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Oppure camuffavano il numero di chi chiamava o veniva utilizzato il software di intelligenza artificiale per clonare la voce di parenti.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the modus operandi reconstructed by the Carabinieri, the fraudsters used artificial-intelligence software to clone the voices of the victims' relatives, alongside spoofed caller numbers and calls posing as bank staff or police.","causal_attribution":"The investigating Carabinieri's attribution, relayed by four outlets from one statement; no tool, recording or technical basis is disclosed."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Costante il ricorso alla pressione psicologica, alimentando inesistenti pericoli per i risparmi o fingendo incidenti stradali occorsi a figli o nipoti. L'obiettivo era sempre lo stesso: indurre le vittime a eseguire bonifici urgenti o ricariche su carte di pagamento intestate ai complici.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"I malcapitati, così, venivano indotti a eseguire bonifici urgenti o ricariche su carte di pagamento intestate ai complici.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The fraudsters invented dangers to the victims' savings or road accidents involving children or grandchildren and induced victims to make urgent bank transfers or top up payment cards held by accomplices.","causal_attribution":"The Carabinieri's description of the scheme as relayed; no individual victim's account is reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"quasi tutte romane, in prevalenza anziani","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Le vittime, non solo anziani, ingannate con la tecnica delle finte telefonate e degli sms","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"RomaToday describes the victims as almost all Roman residents, mostly older people; Il Messaggero writes that the victims were not only older people.","causal_attribution":"Two outlets' characterisations of the same victim group; they differ in emphasis."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Oltre ai denunciati, i carabinieri sono riusciti a recuperare parte della refurtiva sottratta, composta da denaro in contanti, oro e gioielli per un valore che si stima superiore a 900 mila euro. Il totale del bottino messo insieme dal gruppo nel corso dei messi sarebbe più alto, contando anche i bonifici eseguiti dalle povere vittime, convinte di aiutare una persona cara.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"I Carabinieri hanno recuperato parte della refurtiva: oro, gioielli e contanti, per un valore stimato di oltre 900 mila euro.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The Carabinieri recovered cash, gold and jewellery estimated at over 900,000 euros; Fanpage writes that the total taken was higher once victims' bank transfers are counted.","causal_attribution":"Carabinieri figure as relayed; an estimate of recovered property, not a count of losses."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Le indagini dei carabinieri sono scaturite dalle denunce delle vittime, che hanno di fatto consentito di incrociare accertamenti bancari su carte e conti correnti e di eseguire una serie di analisi di tabulati telefonici, di immagini delle telecamere di videosorveglianza, di banche dati e profili social media.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The investigation began from victims' complaints and used bank checks, phone records, video-surveillance images, databases and social media profiles.","causal_attribution":"Carabinieri account as relayed; it does not say which of these checks established the AI voice cloning."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Casi diversi e diverse le bande ma tutte accomunate dalla provenienza geografia poiché i 44 indagati sono tutti originari della Campania","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Il Messaggero reports that the cases involved different groups and that all 44 suspects come from Campania.","causal_attribution":"One outlet's report; Fanpage describes a single network, so the structure of the groups is unresolved."}],"effects":[{"label":"money transferred or handed over after calls using spoofed numbers and, the investigators say, AI-cloned voices of relatives","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.romatoday.it/cronaca/truffa-online-roma-spoofing-intelligenza-artificiale.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian on 2026-11-02; translated by the research agent (an AI). RomaToday, 3 June 2026, relaying the Carabinieri account ('Secondo quanto riferito dai militari'); HTTP 200.","independence_group":"carabinieri-roma-centro-statement-jun-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.fanpage.it/roma/clonavano-le-voci-dei-parenti-con-lia-per-estorcere-denaro-scoperta-truffa-da-un-milione-di-euro/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian on 2026-11-02 through a Wayback Machine capture (the live page returned HTTP 403); translated by the research agent (an AI). Fanpage, 3 June 2026; same Carabinieri origin as s1.","independence_group":"carabinieri-roma-centro-statement-jun-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.rainews.it/tgr/lazio/articoli/2026/06/truffe-digitali-44-denunce-e-900-mila-euro-recuperati-6cb0e87f-493c-43d0-a048-b0994c073b46.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian on 2026-11-02; translated by the research agent (an AI). RaiNews TGR Lazio, 4 June 2026; same Carabinieri origin as s1; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"carabinieri-roma-centro-statement-jun-2026"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.ilmessaggero.it/roma/metropoli/roma_truffe_digitali_carabinieri_recuperano_un_milione-9571542.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian on 2026-11-02; translated by the research agent (an AI). Il Messaggero, 4 June 2026; same Carabinieri origin as s1; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"carabinieri-roma-centro-statement-jun-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["How many of the 39 completed or attempted frauds used a cloned voice, and how many people lost money","How the investigators established that the voices were AI-generated, and which software was used","Whether prosecutors brought charges and whether any case has reached court","Whether the 44 suspects formed one network or several groups (Fanpage and Il Messaggero differ)"],"geography":{"basis":"Event and affected people: the Carabinieri of the Compagnia Roma Centro investigated frauds against victims who were almost all Roman residents (s1, s4). No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IT"],"affected_person_countries":["IT"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a reported police operation: the Rome Carabinieri, who investigated victims' complaints, say fraudsters used AI software to clone relatives' voices in calls that induced mostly older victims to transfer money, in 39 completed or attempted frauds between November 2025 and May 2026; the technical basis is undisclosed and no individual victim is described.","reviewed_on":"2026-11-02"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Carabinieri of the Compagnia Roma Centro, who investigated the 39 frauds using victims' complaints, bank checks and phone records, reconstructed a modus operandi in which the fraudsters used artificial-intelligence software to clone the voices of the victims' relatives (s1, s3, s4; Fanpage s2 adds that the programs let the suspects disguise their own voices as those relatives). The cloned voices impersonated relatives toward the people called and were part of what induced them to make urgent transfers or top up payment cards (s1, s3). This is an attribution by the investigating Carabinieri, relayed by four outlets from one statement; no tool, recording or forensic analysis is disclosed, and the number of cases in which a cloned voice was used is not stated.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Rome Carabinieri say phone fraud suspects used AI software to clone relatives' voices in calls that took money from mostly older residents","summary":"The Carabinieri of the Compagnia Roma Centro announced on 3 June 2026 that they had reported 44 people to the judicial authorities as the alleged perpetrators of 39 completed or attempted phone frauds committed between November 2025 and May 2026. According to the Carabinieri account relayed by RomaToday, Fanpage, RaiNews and Il Messaggero, the fraudsters posed as bank staff or police, faked the caller number shown on the victim's phone (spoofing) and used artificial-intelligence software to clone the voices of the victims' relatives, then invented threats to savings or road accidents involving children or grandchildren so that victims made urgent bank transfers or topped up payment cards held by accomplices. The victims were mostly older residents of Rome. The Carabinieri recovered money, gold and jewellery estimated at over 900,000 euros. The outlets do not describe an individual victim, do not say how many of the 39 cases involved a cloned voice, and do not say how the investigators established that the voices were AI-generated.","incidentDate":"2025-11-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-05-31","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-06-03","aiSystem":"Artificial-intelligence software that the Carabinieri say the fraudsters used to clone the voices of victims' relatives in phone calls; no tool is named","aiProduct":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Carabinieri, victims, mostly older Rome residents, were induced to make urgent transfers or top up payment cards in 39 completed or attempted frauds that used spoofed numbers and, the investigators say, AI-cloned voices of relatives; property worth over 900,000 euros was recovered.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"The Carabinieri count 39 frauds, completed or attempted ('39 episodi di truffe riuscite o tentate', Fanpage); attempted frauds need not have harmed anyone, victims are not counted individually and the share of cases in which a cloned voice was used is not stated, so the people harmed are unquantified (numeric zero placeholders). The 44 reported suspects and the value recovered are not counts of harmed people.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"IT","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.romatoday.it/cronaca/truffa-online-roma-spoofing-intelligenza-artificiale.html","primarySourceLabel":"RomaToday, 3 June 2026: Rome, voices cloned with artificial intelligence; 900,000-euro fraud that emptied accounts","firstPublishedAt":"2026-11-02T03:06:33.425159+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-11-02T03:06:33.425159+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["voice-cloning","impersonation","fraud","phone-scam","older-people","italy"]},{"id":"2025-us-state-department-cable-says-impostor-used-ai-voice-and-text-messages-to-pose-as-secretary-of-state","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals'; 'three foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of Congress'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'the impostor sent fake voice messages and texts that mimicked'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The hoaxes involving Rubio had been unsuccessful and \"not very sophisticated,\" one of the officials said'; 'advise all employees and foreign governments'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'is currently investigating the matter'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."}],"effects":[{"label":"the Secretary of State's identity was used in AI voice and text messages to senior officials, prompting a department investigation and warnings","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5462195/impostor-ai-impersonate-rubio-foreign-officials","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"state-department-cable-3-july-2025"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/marco-rubio-ai-impostor","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"state-department-cable-3-july-2025"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","public_services"],"unknowns":["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."],"geography":{"basis":"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.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"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.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-14"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"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.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"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","summary":"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.","incidentDate":"2025-06-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-07-03","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-07-08","aiSystem":"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","aiProduct":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"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.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"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).","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5462195/impostor-ai-impersonate-rubio-foreign-officials","primarySourceLabel":"NPR (Associated Press), 9 July 2025: Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and U.S. officials","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-14T03:03:37.670188+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T03:03:37.670188+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["united-states","state-department","signal","voicemail","impersonation","voice-cloning","public-official"]}]}