As TNS’ robocall protection team reported in our previous Scam of the Month, fraudsters are continuing to evolve their schemes by using artificial intelligence (AI) voice cloning. In May 2024, the FCC issued the first C-CIST (Consumer Communications Information Services Threats) classification for an entity using the alias ‘Royal Tiger’ for deploying AI to run robocall scams. This group is reportedly responsible for running AI-related scams including bank impersonations, interest rate reductions and utilities. One of the scams they were associated with was impersonating government agencies and claiming their victims had unpaid traffic violations, which is what we will be discussing below.
Bad actors are using sophisticated AI voice cloning technology to create unpaid traffic violation scam calls and leave voicemails. To make the scam appear more legitimate, they may also send a text message with a link that will lead the targeted victim to a website. The websites and texts are also generated using AI.
This scam call may also pretend to be from a lawyer claiming that there was an unpaid traffic violation from years ago, leading the targeted victim to think they had forgotten about it. It is also possible for scammers to spoof numbers of law enforcement groups, increasing the chances of their target picking up the phone.
Scams like this are dangerous to consumers because not only does it potentially cost them financially, but it can also damage the trust people have in government. When someone who has fallen victim to a traffic ticket scam receives a legitimate traffic ticket, they may be skeptical of its legitimacy and not pay it, causing them further issues.
It is important to remember that legitimate traffic tickets are not given over the phone. In addition, law enforcement agencies do not ask for payment of traffic tickets over the phone, so it is a major red flag if you receive this request.
Hopefully the C-CIST against ‘Royal Tiger’ will send a warning sign to other groups generating robocall scams, as this is one of the many steps the FCC is taking to protect consumers from fraudsters.
It is best practice to never engage with unknown numbers and report phone numbers being used by scammers to your carrier. If you believe you are the victim of a scam, you can report it to your local police, state Attorney General’s office and the FTC.
Call-blocking apps, including those powered by TNS Call Guardian®, are also a great resource for reporting and blocking unwanted robocalls. Stay vigilant, share information about scams with others and be sure to check out our monthly Scam of the Month page updates.
John Haraburda is Product Lead for TNS Call Guardian® with specific responsibility for TNS’ Communications Market solutions.
Call Guardian is a registered trademark of Transaction Network Services, Inc.
