Scammers Reportedly Used AI-Cloned Daughter's Voice to Defraud Bay Area Mother in Fake Kidnapping Call
Deborah Del Mastro of Martinez, California, reportedly wired $5,400 to Mexico after scammers falsely claimed her daughter Sarah had been kidnapped and played what she believed was Sarah's panicked voice. AI had reportedly been used to mimic the daughter's voice during a five-hour call that pressured Del Mastro to send money. After she contacted her daughter and learned she was safe, Martinez police reportedly began investigating.
- Date it happened
- 2026-05-24
- Organisation involved
- Scammers, Fake kidnapping scammers
- Product, system or model
- Deepfake technology, Synthetic audio generation technology
This incident was imported from AI Incident Database and is used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.
This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.