Greek police warn of AI voice imitation in telephone scams
Greek police warned citizens on 13 August 2026 about telephone scams in which AI systems are used to imitate the voices of family members in order to manipulate targets into transferring money or valuables or granting unauthorized entry to residences. The police stated that while confirmed cases remain limited, citizens should not rely solely on voice recognition to verify the identity of callers.
What happened
The Hellenic Police issued a warning on 13 August 2026 about telephone scams in which perpetrators use AI systems to imitate the voices of family members of targets. According to the police, the scheme operates as follows: a citizen receives a deceptive call from someone claiming to represent a mobile telephone company, during which a voice sample may be recorded; subsequently, the perpetrators call a family member of the original target and impersonate electricity utility employees, alleging a fault or electrical leak, and request entry to the residence; during the call, a voice in the background resembling that of the family member is heard encouraging the target to cooperate with the callers.
The police stated that the recorded number of such incidents is limited but noted that early recognition of this method is necessary to prevent fraud, particularly against minors and elderly relatives.
Reported impact
The scams reportedly target citizens with the intent to extract money, jewellery and other valuables, or to gain unauthorized entry to residences under the pretense of technical inspections.
Index analysis
The use of AI voice cloning in telephone fraud represents a new variation of longstanding telephone scam tactics, combining social engineering with synthetic media to increase credibility and manipulate victims.
Governance controls
The Hellenic Police issued guidance advising citizens to immediately terminate suspicious calls, not to disclose personal or financial information, not to rely on voice recognition alone as proof of identity, and to contact family members directly using known phone numbers to verify unexpected requests.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.