In November 2025, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno issued a fraud alert about voice cloning scams. These scams use artificial intelligence to copy the voices of friends or family members. Scammers may use these voices to ask for personal information or money. The sheriff said that audio samples from social media can be used to clone a voice with only a few seconds of recording.
Sheriff Marceno suggests setting up a password with trusted people. If someone calls and does not know the password, do not share any information. He also recommends verifying suspicious calls by contacting the person directly. Caller ID can be faked, so it should not be trusted.
The alert advises residents to let calls from unknown numbers go to voicemail. People should avoid talking to unknown callers, as scammers may record voices for future use. Sheriff Marceno says it is important to stay calm and not react to urgent requests from callers…