The Flop

Welcome back to The Flop—your cozy corner for demystifying AI with warmth, wit, and a dash of whimsy!

This week we’re talking about the dark side of AI: scams, voice cloning, and how bad actors are using smart tools in sneaky ways. But don’t worry, this isn’t a fear-fest. It’s a chance to feel more informed, more prepared, and way less likely to fall for the tricks. Let’s dive in.

🐰 Down the Rabbit Hole

When AI Falls Into the Wrong Hands

Most AI tools are helpful. They organize your inbox, help your kids with homework, or give you suspiciously good dinner ideas with only three ingredients. But just like email or smartphones, AI can also be misused, especially by scammers who are always looking for a new angle.

Here are some of the newer tricks bad actors are using, powered by AI:

🔊 Voice Cloning
This one’s scary because it’s eerily good. With just a short clip of someone’s voice (grabbed from a video, podcast, or even a voicemail), scammers can generate fake audio that sounds exactly like them.

Imagine getting a call that sounds like your daughter saying she’s in trouble and needs money. Or your grandparent hearing your voice asking for help. It’s not science fiction, unfortunately, it’s happening.

📧 Phishing (now with AI flair!)
You’ve probably seen phishing emails before. They are those fake messages pretending to be from your bank, Amazon, or a long-lost relative with a surprising fortune. But now, with AI, those messages are getting harder to spot. The grammar is better. The urgency feels more real. Some even include accurate personal info scraped from social media.

📱 Spoofing
This is when scammers disguise their phone number to look like someone you trust, like a family member, your doctor’s office, or even the local police. Scarily, this actually happened to a friend of mine recently.

😬 The New Reality Check
This doesn’t mean we all need to panic or unplug our devices. But it does mean we need to update how we think about trust. Just like we taught our kids not to talk to strangers online, we need to start preparing for a world where hearing a voice or seeing a familiar number isn’t proof of identity.

🛠️AI Hack of the Week

Create a Family Safety Passcode

So now that we’ve peeked into the spookier corners of AI, let’s shift to what you can actually do to stay one step ahead.

Here’s the tip I hope you’ll never need but you’ll be so glad to have. It’s quick, free, and incredibly effective: set up a family authentication check.

✅ Step by Step: Create a Family Code or Question

🔐 Option 1: A Shared Passcode
This is a secret word or phrase only your immediate family knows. You use it to verify identity if someone calls, texts, or messages in distress, or if anything feels off.

Think of it like a verbal secret handshake.

✅ How to Set It Up
Step 1: Choose a passcode together.
Pick something unique but easy to remember. You want weird-but-memorable, not password123. (Examples: “turquoise toaster,” “grandma’s meatballs,” or “banana tornado.”)

Step 2: Share it privately.
Only say it aloud in person or on a secure call, not over text or email.

Step 3: Use it when something feels wrong.
If someone calls you claiming to be a family member and says they’re in trouble, ask:

If they can’t answer, hang up and contact the real person directly.

🧠 Option 2: A Shared Question and Answer
Some experts recommend a security question instead of a passcode - something every family member knows the answer to, but isn’t publicly known. This can feel more natural and less like a spy movie.

Examples:

• “What’s grandma’s favorite flower?

• “What song did we play on repeat during that road trip?”

• “What movie do we watch every Christmas?”

The idea is the same: it’s something a scammer wouldn’t know, even with AI tools.

🙋 What if you haven’t set up a passcode yet?
Don’t worry. You can still protect yourself by using Option 2 even if you haven’t set it up. If you get a suspicious message or call, ask a personal question only the real person would know how to answer.

Try things like:

If the person hesitates or dodges the answer? Trust your instincts and hang up. Then reach out to your family member directly using a known, safe contact method.

🌳 Moment of Calm

AI Antidote: Where in the World?

Okay, your blood pressure might be a little higher than usual after today’s issue, so before we wrap, here’s a quick moment of calm for your eyeballs. No AI, no scams, no secret codes. Just nature doing its thing.

Can you guess which National Park this is?

Congrats to Maya, who cracked last week’s National Park clue with poetic flair: “The bears sleep all day in the sun’s rays, so the national park’s called Katmai!! ⛰️” 10/10 for rhyming, reasoning, and bear-loving brilliance.

👋 Until Next Week

Thanks for being here. I know your inbox is a busy place, and I hope this one made you feel just a little smarter and more prepared in this new world of AI.

Warmly,
Ricci

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Last week, we explored how to use voice mode to learn new things.