• Harvesting voice samples during cold calls.

    From Richmond@dnomhcir@gmx.com to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 11:19:03 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest' samples
    of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps most people
    can take to protect themselves, such as registering to avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.

    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The Natural Philosopher@tnp@invalid.invalid to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 12:23:28 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On 06/02/2026 11:19, Richmond wrote:
    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest' samples
    of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps most people
    can take to protect themselves, such as registering to avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.

    Indeed.
    I find the best response is to wait until they start talking.
    If they say "Is that Mr (my name)?" then I respond. It's usually the
    hospital / surgery calling.

    If they say "'good morning, I am from...." I put the phone down. Or say 'bollocks you are' and *then* put the phone down...


    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html
    --
    How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.

    Adolf Hitler


    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott@newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 12:39:55 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:19:03 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest' samples
    of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps most people
    can take to protect themselves, such as registering to avoid marketing >cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.

    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html

    "The criminals then use this information to create AI-generated voice
    clones of the person, and then call financial institutions to set up
    payments."

    "The voice clones could then be used to set up payments with banks and
    other legitimate businesses and financial providers without the
    victimAs knowledge, NTS said."

    How is that supposed to work? Unless the financial institution has
    that person's voice in their system (with permission to store and use
    it), how can the criminals establish identification just by sounding
    like somebody else? I opted out of voice recognition with my bank.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Richmond@dnomhcir@gmx.com to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 13:12:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:19:03 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest'
    samples of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps
    most people can take to protect themselves, such as registering to
    avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.
    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html

    "The criminals then use this information to create AI-generated voice
    clones of the person, and then call financial institutions to set up payments."

    "The voice clones could then be used to set up payments with banks and
    other legitimate businesses and financial providers without the
    victimrCOs knowledge, NTS said."

    How is that supposed to work? Unless the financial institution has
    that person's voice in their system (with permission to store and use
    it), how can the criminals establish identification just by sounding
    like somebody else? I opted out of voice recognition with my bank.

    I don't know, the picture shows a smart phone. I haven't ventured into
    smart phone banking. Some banks are exclusively smart phone so maybe
    they use this method of identification? e.g. Revolut.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Theo@theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 13:26:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:
    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:19:03 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest'
    samples of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps
    most people can take to protect themselves, such as registering to
    avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.
    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html

    "The criminals then use this information to create AI-generated voice clones of the person, and then call financial institutions to set up payments."

    "The voice clones could then be used to set up payments with banks and other legitimate businesses and financial providers without the
    victimrCOs knowledge, NTS said."

    How is that supposed to work? Unless the financial institution has
    that person's voice in their system (with permission to store and use
    it), how can the criminals establish identification just by sounding
    like somebody else? I opted out of voice recognition with my bank.

    I don't know, the picture shows a smart phone. I haven't ventured into
    smart phone banking. Some banks are exclusively smart phone so maybe
    they use this method of identification? e.g. Revolut.

    Some use voice ID for phone banking, including HMRC:

    https://www.hsbc.co.uk/ways-to-bank/phone-banking/ https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/call-us/voice-id.html https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/voice-identification-privacy-notice/voice-identification-privacy-notice

    I suspect it's aimed at those who don't bank online.

    Theo
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott@newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 14:09:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:12:35 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:19:03 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest'
    samples of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps
    most people can take to protect themselves, such as registering to
    avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.
    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html

    "The criminals then use this information to create AI-generated voice
    clones of the person, and then call financial institutions to set up
    payments."

    "The voice clones could then be used to set up payments with banks and
    other legitimate businesses and financial providers without the
    victimAs knowledge, NTS said."

    How is that supposed to work? Unless the financial institution has
    that person's voice in their system (with permission to store and use
    it), how can the criminals establish identification just by sounding
    like somebody else? I opted out of voice recognition with my bank.

    I don't know, the picture shows a smart phone. I haven't ventured into
    smart phone banking. Some banks are exclusively smart phone so maybe
    they use this method of identification? e.g. Revolut.

    Maybe they do, maybe they don't but how is a scammer in possession of
    a cloned voice supposed to know which bank the victim uses?
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Richmond@dnomhcir@gmx.com to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 14:15:15 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:12:35 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:19:03 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest'
    samples of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps >>>>most people can take to protect themselves, such as registering to >>>>avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.
    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html

    "The criminals then use this information to create AI-generated
    voice clones of the person, and then call financial institutions to
    set up payments."

    "The voice clones could then be used to set up payments with banks
    and other legitimate businesses and financial providers without the
    victimrCOs knowledge, NTS said."

    How is that supposed to work? Unless the financial institution has
    that person's voice in their system (with permission to store and
    use it), how can the criminals establish identification just by
    sounding like somebody else? I opted out of voice recognition with
    my bank.

    I don't know, the picture shows a smart phone. I haven't ventured into >>smart phone banking. Some banks are exclusively smart phone so maybe
    they use this method of identification? e.g. Revolut.

    Maybe they do, maybe they don't but how is a scammer in possession of
    a cloned voice supposed to know which bank the victim uses?

    If I had to speculate I would say data breaches, e.g. email hacked
    linked to telephone number.

    https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/20/revolut-cyberattack-thousands-exposed/
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The Natural Philosopher@tnp@invalid.invalid to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 14:23:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On 06/02/2026 14:09, Scott wrote:
    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:12:35 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:19:03 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest'
    samples of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps
    most people can take to protect themselves, such as registering to
    avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.

    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html

    "The criminals then use this information to create AI-generated voice
    clones of the person, and then call financial institutions to set up
    payments."

    "The voice clones could then be used to set up payments with banks and
    other legitimate businesses and financial providers without the
    victimrCOs knowledge, NTS said."

    How is that supposed to work? Unless the financial institution has
    that person's voice in their system (with permission to store and use
    it), how can the criminals establish identification just by sounding
    like somebody else? I opted out of voice recognition with my bank.

    I don't know, the picture shows a smart phone. I haven't ventured into
    smart phone banking. Some banks are exclusively smart phone so maybe
    they use this method of identification? e.g. Revolut.

    Maybe they do, maybe they don't but how is a scammer in possession of
    a cloned voice supposed to know which bank the victim uses?

    It's just another part of identity theft, once you know someone's name
    address and phone number and probably bank account branch and number.

    You then have nearly all you need.
    --
    If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
    eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such
    time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
    and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally
    important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for
    the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the
    truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

    Joseph Goebbels




    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Richmond@dnomhcir@gmx.com to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 14:31:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> writes:

    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:12:35 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:19:03 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote: >>>>
    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest' >>>>>samples of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps >>>>>most people can take to protect themselves, such as registering to >>>>>avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.
    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html

    "The criminals then use this information to create AI-generated
    voice clones of the person, and then call financial institutions to
    set up payments."

    "The voice clones could then be used to set up payments with banks
    and other legitimate businesses and financial providers without the
    victimrCOs knowledge, NTS said."

    How is that supposed to work? Unless the financial institution has
    that person's voice in their system (with permission to store and
    use it), how can the criminals establish identification just by
    sounding like somebody else? I opted out of voice recognition with
    my bank.

    I don't know, the picture shows a smart phone. I haven't ventured into >>>smart phone banking. Some banks are exclusively smart phone so maybe
    they use this method of identification? e.g. Revolut.

    Maybe they do, maybe they don't but how is a scammer in possession of
    a cloned voice supposed to know which bank the victim uses?

    If I had to speculate I would say data breaches, e.g. email hacked
    linked to telephone number.

    https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/20/revolut-cyberattack-thousands-exposed/

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw99ql0239wo

    "Ticketmaster owner Live Nation confirmed "unauthorised activity" on its database after a group of hackers said they had stolen the personal
    details of 560 million customers.

    ShinyHunters, the group claiming responsibility, says the stolen data
    includes names, addresses, phone numbers and partial credit card details
    from Ticketmaster users worldwide.
    "
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott@newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 14:42:33 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:31:09 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> writes:

    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:12:35 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote:

    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> writes:

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:19:03 +0000, Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> wrote: >>>>>
    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest' >>>>>>samples of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps >>>>>>most people can take to protect themselves, such as registering to >>>>>>avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.
    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-setting-085307406.html

    "The criminals then use this information to create AI-generated
    voice clones of the person, and then call financial institutions to
    set up payments."

    "The voice clones could then be used to set up payments with banks
    and other legitimate businesses and financial providers without the
    victimAs knowledge, NTS said."

    How is that supposed to work? Unless the financial institution has
    that person's voice in their system (with permission to store and
    use it), how can the criminals establish identification just by
    sounding like somebody else? I opted out of voice recognition with
    my bank.

    I don't know, the picture shows a smart phone. I haven't ventured into >>>>smart phone banking. Some banks are exclusively smart phone so maybe >>>>they use this method of identification? e.g. Revolut.

    Maybe they do, maybe they don't but how is a scammer in possession of
    a cloned voice supposed to know which bank the victim uses?

    If I had to speculate I would say data breaches, e.g. email hacked
    linked to telephone number.

    https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/20/revolut-cyberattack-thousands-exposed/

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw99ql0239wo

    "Ticketmaster owner Live Nation confirmed "unauthorised activity" on its >database after a group of hackers said they had stolen the personal
    details of 560 million customers.

    ShinyHunters, the group claiming responsibility, says the stolen data >includes names, addresses, phone numbers and partial credit card details
    from Ticketmaster users worldwide.
    "
    Thanks to both you and The Natural Philosopher for clarifying an area
    I had not thought of. I obviously don't have a criminal mind :-)
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From NY@me@privacy.net to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 15:29:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On 06/02/2026 12:23, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
    On 06/02/2026 11:19, Richmond wrote:
    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest' samples
    of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps most people
    can take to protect themselves, such as registering to avoid marketing
    cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.

    Indeed.
    I find the best response is to wait until they start talking.
    If they say "Is that Mr (my name)?" then I respond. It's usually-a the hospital / surgery calling.

    If they say "'good morning, I am from...." I put the phone down. Or say 'bollocks you are' and *then* put the phone down...


    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-
    setting-085307406.html


    I usually ask them who they want to speak to. If they avoid that
    question more than once, or if they want to speak to "Moosah" (that's
    what it sounds like) I say "Wrong number" and put the phone down.

    I don't know who the hell this "Moosah" is, but a surprisingly large
    number of calls seem to be for him. He doesn't seem to have a surname.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott@newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 16:28:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On Fri, 6 Feb 2026 15:29:09 +0000, NY <me@privacy.net> wrote:

    On 06/02/2026 12:23, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
    On 06/02/2026 11:19, Richmond wrote:
    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest' samples
    of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple steps most people
    can take to protect themselves, such as registering to avoid marketing
    cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.

    Indeed.
    I find the best response is to wait until they start talking.
    If they say "Is that Mr (my name)?" then I respond. It's usuallya the
    hospital / surgery calling.

    If they say "'good morning, I am from...." I put the phone down. Or say
    'bollocks you are' and *then* put the phone down...

    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-
    setting-085307406.html

    I usually ask them who they want to speak to. If they avoid that
    question more than once, or if they want to speak to "Moosah" (that's
    what it sounds like) I say "Wrong number" and put the phone down.

    I don't know who the hell this "Moosah" is, but a surprisingly large
    number of calls seem to be for him. He doesn't seem to have a surname.

    I assume it's Mr as the master of the household.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From JMB99@mb@nospam.net to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 20:53:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On 06/02/2026 13:26, Theo wrote:
    Some use voice ID for phone banking, including HMRC:



    Didn't a radio programme ("More or Less"?) fool one of those systems
    with a recording of the person's voice?



    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Scott@newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 21:05:49 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On Fri, 6 Feb 2026 20:53:43 +0000, JMB99 <mb@nospam.net> wrote:

    On 06/02/2026 13:26, Theo wrote:
    Some use voice ID for phone banking, including HMRC:

    Didn't a radio programme ("More or Less"?) fool one of those systems
    with a recording of the person's voice?

    More likely 'You and Yours'
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From JMB99@mb@nospam.net to uk.telecom on Fri Feb 6 20:50:50 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On 06/02/2026 12:39, Scott wrote:
    "The criminals then use this information to create AI-generated voice
    clones of the person, and then call financial institutions to set up payments."



    I can't imagine any AI system can do much with a recording of me saying
    "who is calling?" or something like that. Often I dp not get that far
    and just hang up.


    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Davey@davey@example.invalid to uk.telecom on Mon Feb 9 09:42:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.telecom

    On Fri, 06 Feb 2026 16:28:21 +0000
    Scott <newsgroups@gefion.myzen.co.uk> wrote:

    On Fri, 6 Feb 2026 15:29:09 +0000, NY <me@privacy.net> wrote:

    On 06/02/2026 12:23, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
    On 06/02/2026 11:19, Richmond wrote:
    "With criminals now cold-calling people in Britain to 'harvest'
    samples of their voice to use in fraud, there are some simple
    steps most people can take to protect themselves, such as
    registering to avoid marketing cold-calls."

    Good luck with that.

    Indeed.
    I find the best response is to wait until they start talking.
    If they say "Is that Mr (my name)?" then I respond. It's usually
    the hospital / surgery calling.

    If they say "'good morning, I am from...." I put the phone down.
    Or say 'bollocks you are' and *then* put the phone down...

    https://uk.yahoo.com/news/direct-debit-scam-phone-call-block-
    setting-085307406.html

    I usually ask them who they want to speak to. If they avoid that
    question more than once, or if they want to speak to "Moosah"
    (that's what it sounds like) I say "Wrong number" and put the phone
    down.

    I don't know who the hell this "Moosah" is, but a surprisingly large >number of calls seem to be for him. He doesn't seem to have a
    surname.

    I assume it's Mr as the master of the household.

    If the displayed number is not in my 'phone's memory, I let the
    answering machine take it. The usual response is that the call is
    terminated at once. Job done, until the next day, when we go through it
    again.
    --
    Davey.

    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2