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A emerging voice phishing scheme is circulating, in which fraudsters employ AI-created voices of children to demand money from parents.

On the first day, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) released a consumer warning at the “caution” level about voice phishing scams that employ AI to impersonate missing children. As per the FSS, fraudsters focus on parents during times when their kids are at academies, making calls that include the child’s name and academy details to build credibility. They then assert that the child has been taken and connect the call with an AI-generated voice resembling the child.

During these calls, the AI-generated voice of a child cries, stating, “A man hit me” or “A drunk man hit me,” making parents anxious and following the scammers’ instructions. The FSS noted that fraudsters frequently bring up minor issues—like the child using inappropriate language or damaging a phone screen—to ask for small amounts of approximately 500,000 South Korean won and then swiftly conclude the scam.

The FSS recommends that parents consider the possibility of voice phishing if they get financial requests along with a child’s crying voice. According to the FSS, recent cyberattacks on Kyowon Group, which manages educational brands such as Kumon Learning and Red Pen, may result in future instances of voice phishing.

If a call is received stating that a child has been abducted, parents should immediately reach out to the child or their school to confirm their whereabouts. If there is genuine harm, they must promptly ask for a payment freeze on the account. The FSS advised, “Report suspicious phone numbers to avoid additional harm.”