Phone scam shows what bad actors can do with your personal information

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Changing technology makes it easier to fall victim to scams. NBC4 Investigates viewers are reporting a variety of scams targeting them or their loved ones.

Two months ago, Columbus was hit with a massive ransomware attack. While there’s no way to confirm your information was included in the leak, it’s serving as a reminder of just what bad actors can do if they get their hands on your information.

Watch: How Columbus ransomware information could be used in scams

It’s all about your personal details -- any piece of information that can make a call, email, text seem more realistic and personalized -- and scammers are getting more creative with how they get that information.

This can include stolen information about court cases you’ve been involved in, events you’ve attended that can help bad actors guess passwords and break into your accounts, if you are using an easy-to-guess password. However, with the growth of AI, these techniques are getting even harder to avoid.

Beverly Smith wasn’t expecting a call that afternoon, but her phone rang, she recognized the area code and she picked up.

"It was a one woman that sounded like my daughter, and she was in distress. And she said she'd been in an accident," Smith said.

The caller said she was in jail and needed her mother’s help.

"She gave me a phone number to call her attorney. And so, I got off the phone with her," Smith said.

She was suspicious: why didn’t her daughter, Sharon Christie, call her husband? But Christie didn’t pick up her cell phone when Smith tried her, so she called the number she was given.

"He told me that they needed $20,000 to get her out, but I would get it back. When she goes to this hearing, when she gets released, I would get it back," Smith said.

She still felt uneasy, and that gut feeling ended up being correct.

"A little while later this woman calls back to find out, well, what did you find out? But she sounded totally different," Smith said. "She wasn't in distress anymore. She was kind of like giddy, like, oh, what'd you find out? And so then I knew for sure."

Smith hung up and finally heard back from her daughter, who, of course, was not in jail.

"I don't know exactly how they got my voice," Christie said. "And I did have a voicemail that was my voice when callers call in. And so I've changed my phone so that it's an automated message."

Unfortunately, these scams are becoming more common -- experts NBC4 Investigates spoke with said scammers try to get any information they can to break into accounts, learn information and extort you.

"Fraudsters and bad actors have the technology where they can get on a phone call with, let's say, that woman's daughter," Sift Trust and Safety Architect Alexander Hall said. "They can record her voice, run it through a system. And then use deepfake generative AI in order to make that voice say whatever they type or whatever they say."

Smith and Christie reported the call to the FTC and reached out to NBC4 Investigates.

Since she lives in Carroll County, Smith said she hasn’t interacted with Columbus, but Christie has, through the court system and when visiting city hall. They don’t know if that’s how their information was compromised, but they do know Smith was almost a victim.

"You're in this emotional state like, oh, my gosh, you don't think that fast. It's hard to think fast," Smith said. "But after it was over, we got to thinking when we should have done this or should have done that."

Some techniques experts recommend include having a code word with your family members, so if someone calls and pretends to know you, they need to say the code word. Also, freeze and monitor your credit and bank accounts.