AI-Generated Voice Calls Used in Spoofed Google Support Phishing Scams
Scammers reportedly used AI-generated voice calls impersonating Google Support to attempt phishing attacks on Gmail users, including Microsoft employee Sam Mitrovic and Y Combinator founder Garry Tan. The attacks used spoofed phone numbers appearing in official Google documentation and fraudulent emails routed through cloud infrastructure, but both victims detected and avoided the scams.
What happened
Scammers used AI-generated voice calls impersonating Google Support to target Gmail account holders. In one case, Sam Mitrovic of Microsoft received an account recovery alert, followed 40 minutes later by a call from a number appearing to be Google Support. The caller claimed unauthorized access from Germany and that account data had been downloaded.
In another case, Y Combinator founder Garry Tan received a call claiming his death certificate was on file and a family member was attempting account access. The scammer sent a fraudulent account recovery request spoofed to appear from Google Support rather than an actual device.
The phone numbers used appeared legitimate by reference to official Google documentation, and the voices were described as convincing. One caller exhibited repetitive speech patterns characteristic of AI generation. Mitrovic identified the scam when the attacker sent an email with a 'To' field containing 'InternalCaseTracking.com' rather than a Google domain, and the email header traced to an Amazon Web Services IP address.
Reported impact
Neither victim lost account access. Mitrovic's account security log showed only his own login sessions, and Tan avoided confirming the fraudulent recovery request.
Index analysis
The scams targeted high-profile individuals but relied on social engineering rather than technical exploits. The attackers spoofed phone caller IDs to display official Google Support numbers and created fraudulent emails that mimicked Google's domain structure but contained non-Google domains in the routing fields.
According to reporting, scammers were targeting approximately 2.5 billion Gmail account holders using similar AI-powered phishing schemes.
Governance controls
Google is aware of the scams and is combating them through partnerships with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and the DNS Research Federation to launch the Global Signal Exchange, a platform for sharing scam information.
Google is expanding its Cross-Account Protection tool to help users by sharing security notifications with linked apps and services.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.