On Tuesday, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation advised Americans to share a secret word or phrase with their family members to protect against AI-powered voice-cloning scams, as criminals increasingly use voice synthesis to impersonate loved ones in crisis.
“Create a secret word or phrase with your family to verify their identity,” wrote the FBI in an official public service announcement (I-120324-PSA).
For example, you could tell your parents, children, or spouse to ask for a word or phrase to verify your identity if something seems suspicious, such as “The sparrow flies at midnight,” “Greg is the king of burritos,” or simply “flibbertigibbet.” (As fun as these sound, your password should be secret and not the same as these.)
