AI is being used to 'turbocharge' fraud with voice cloning scams, and regulators 'need to be vigilant early,' FTC chair warns

• The FTC chair warned that AI is being used to "turbocharge" fraud and scams, per Bloomberg.
• It follows reports of scammers using AI voice-cloning to trick parents into believing their children are in trouble.

The rise of AI is being used to "turbocharge" fraud and scams, according to the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Bloomberg reported.

Lina Khan made the comments at an AI and venture capital event in New York City on Thursday evening.

According to Bloomberg, she noted that scammers have been using AI voice-cloning to pose as distressed family members before defrauding victims.

In April, local news station Arizona's Family reported that one scammer tried to get a $1 million ransom after cloning the voice of a 15-year-old to pretend he'd kidnapped her.

And The Washington Post previously reported that a Canadian couple was scammed out of $21,000 after hearing an AI-generated voice that sounded like their son.

Lawmakers are currently preparing to introduce rules governing AI, with Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO, calling for more oversight while at Congress last month.

But Khan added that some existing laws would already apply to the industry. "There is no AI exemption from laws prohibiting discrimination," she said, per Bloomberg.

Right now, it's a case of ensuring businesses comply with those laws, such as preventing the biggest companies from killing off promising new innovations, she said.

The FTC chair warned that regulators around the world failed to intervene as the internet rapidly expanded in the early 2000s.

And to avoid a repeat of this with AI, Khan said that regulators "need to be vigilant early," per Bloomberg.

The FTC did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside US working hours.