A Florida police department confirmed that fraudsters used artificial intelligence to replicate the voice of Osceola County Sheriff Steve Moser. The scammers sent voicemails to residents impersonating the sheriff, claiming the caller was him to allege missed jury duty or an outstanding arrest warrant. Sheriff Chris Blackmon stated that the criminals also used the sheriff’s photograph to lend credibility to the fraudulent calls. Impersonating a police officer constitutes a third-degree felony in Florida, though the Osceola County sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to inquiries. Similar scams targeting individuals in Georgia and Pennsylvania have emerged recently, often involving voices that sound like local law enforcement even without explicit AI cloning. Voice cloning tools have existed for years, yet their application in real-time deception is expanding rapidly. Previous investigations by 404 Media documented deepfake fraud targeting celebrities and businesses, including a case where scammers cloned a law firm partner to steal over $108 million from a private bank. These tactics continue to evolve as fraudsters exploit commercially available software to bypass human verification.
- Impersonating police officers is a third-degree felony in Florida.
- Scammers frequently combine cloned audio with official-looking photographs.
- Similar voice fraud incidents have been reported in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
