Beijing police advise staying silent for three seconds on unfamiliar calls to block AI voice cloning scams. Learn AI scam types, five privacy steps, and hotlines 110 and 96110.
Tags:Source: OT-Team(G), 中国新闻网
Recently, Beijing police have shared a simple “three-second silence” technique to help people identify and avoid AI-assisted phone scams.
Guo Tao, a police officer with the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau’s Office News Center, advised people to stay silent when answering an unfamiliar call if the caller does not speak first.
Instead, wait quietly and count to three. If the caller remains silent, hang up.
The same approach applies when the call is answered by an AI bot pretending to be a customer-service representative. Rather than responding, people should hang up immediately.
According to the warning, scammers may use a victim’s voice after getting them to speak. The system can then trigger a scripted scam, transfer the call to a human operator and collect additional voice samples. These recordings may later be used to clone the victim’s voice and impersonate them when contacting relatives or friends to request money transfers.
What AI-Enabled Scams Can Look Like
1. Voice cloning
Scammers may deliberately remain silent for several seconds after calling, hoping the victim will respond with words such as “hello” or “who is this?” Even a short voice sample may potentially be processed with AI to create a voice replica for impersonation and fraud.
2. AI investment and financial scams
Scammers can use AI tools to generate fake positive market news, fabricate videos featuring influencers or supposed experts, and promote “guaranteed profit” investment schemes. Victims may then be pressured into transferring money or adding funds to an account.
3. AI face-swapping videos
Scammers may take photos or videos posted on social media and use AI face-swapping technology to impersonate relatives, friends, bosses or clients. They may then fabricate emergencies such as a traffic accident, an arrest requiring urgent payment, or an urgent request from a supervisor to make a payment.
4. AI romance and relationship scams
Scammers can use AI to create the image of a seemingly “perfect partner” and maintain long-term conversations with victims to build trust. Once the relationship is established, they may ask for money under various pretexts, including emergency medical expenses, business funding shortfalls, or travel and accommodation costs for an in-person meeting.
Five Steps to Protect Your Privacy and Money
Beijing police also recommend five basic steps for reducing the risk of personal-information leaks and financial losses when dealing with suspected AI scams.
1. Reject suspicious requests
Refuse suspicious requests to read sensitive information aloud over the phone, such as bank-card numbers or ID numbers.
2. Stop the interaction immediately
Do not open suspicious links, or close them immediately if they have already been opened. Hang up suspicious calls or video calls as soon as possible rather than continuing to engage with the caller.
3. Verify independently
If someone claiming to be customer service, a friend or a relative makes a suspicious call, contact the platform’s official customer-service channel or the person directly to verify the situation. Do not act hastily.
4. Never transfer money
Regardless of the reason given, do not transfer money, scan QR codes or make payments or top-ups at the caller’s request.
5. Report it promptly
If you have been scammed or suspect that you have been targeted, call 110 or 96110, China’s national anti-fraud hotline, immediately. Keep chat records, transfer receipts and other evidence, and provide the details to police or the anti-fraud hotline for assistance.
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