BANGKOK – Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra revealed on Wednesday that she narrowly avoided being deceived by a phone scam in which artificial intelligence was used to mimic the voice of a foreign leader.
The 38-year-old leader recounted receiving a message from someone whose voice sounded identical to a prominent foreign leader. “In the clip, he said he was looking forward to seeing me and working together,” she said, without disclosing the leader’s identity.
Her suspicions were aroused when a second message mentioned that Thailand was the only ASEAN country that had not made a donation. “When I heard that, I thought, ‘this is not right,'” she explained. Her doubts were confirmed after receiving a text message requesting a transfer to a foreign bank account. “I knew it for sure when I saw that,” she said.
This incident highlights the increasing sophistication of scams in Thailand, particularly “call center scams,” where fraudsters impersonate officials, police, or financial institutions, often using advanced technologies like AI.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn, daughter of telecom magnate and former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, recently declared assets worth over $400 million to Thailand’s anti-corruption commission. Her father, with a net worth of $2.1 billion, is among Thailand’s richest individuals.
The prime minister’s experience underscores the growing global threat posed by AI-driven fraud and the need for vigilance against such schemes.