Mexican authorities have arrested a former state treasurer, Luis Miranda Contreras, along with his wife, children, and a bodyguard, on charges of orchestrating an AI‑driven voice‑cloning extortion scheme targeting high‑ranking officials. The security ministry announced Thursday that the group impersonated Supreme Court justices, governors, mayors, and presidential staff to demand money, government jobs, or business contracts from their victims.
The investigation revealed a two‑step tactic. First, someone posing as an assistant would call a victim and request the boss’s personal phone number. Shortly thereafter, the purported boss would call, citing “orders from on high” and using an AI‑generated voice clone to make the demand.
According to the ministry, the scheme operated since 2021, extracting “substantial amounts of money” through threats and extortion. The former treasurer, previously convicted of embezzlement, and his family members are suspected of targeting judges, governors, and employees of the presidency.
Voice‑cloning scams have surged with advances in artificial intelligence. In the United States alone, AI‑enabled fraud—often involving impersonation of relatives—has cost Americans an estimated $890 million, the FBI reported last month.
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