BANGKOK: Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra almost fell victim to a phone scam using AI to impersonate a foreign leader’s voice, she said on Wednesday ( Jan 15 ).
The prime minister, the youngest child of telecoms tycoon and ex-prime secretary Thaksin Shinawatra, said she received a text in a voice sounding similar to a well-known head, without identifying the person.
” In the clip, he said he was looking forward to seeing me and working up”, she said.
She missed a call from the same amount at night before a second voicemail the following day sparked her suspicions.
When I heard that, I thought,” This is not right,” she said,” the voice said Thailand is the only ASEAN country that has not yet made a donation.”
Shortly after, a text message pleading for funds to be sent to a bank account outside of Thailand confirmed her reservations.
” I knew it for certain when I saw that”, she said.
Paetongtarn did not specify when she got the texts.
So-called” call centre scams” are prevalent in Thailand, in which fraudsters mimic police, government officials or bank staff- usually using automated “robocalls” to make the initial contact.
Paetongtarn, 38, next year declared more than US$ 400 million in property to Thailand’s anti-corruption fee.
Her parents Thaksin- who previously owned Manchester City sports membership- has a shield worth of US$ 2.1 billion, according to Forbes, making him the 10th-richest person in Thailand.