The FBI has issued a new public service announcement warning that cybercriminals are using AI-generated voice deepfakes to impersonate senior U.S. officials in a wave of voice phishing (vishing) and text-based (smishing) attacks that began in April 2025.
According to the alert, threat actors are sending AI-cloned voice messages and texts claiming to be from high-level government figures to deceive victims into revealing sensitive information or clicking malicious links.
The attackers’ goal is to gain access to personal accounts and then use compromised accounts to expand their social engineering campaigns, potentially leading to financial fraud and data breaches.
“If you receive a message claiming to be from a senior US official, do not assume it is authentic,” the FBI cautioned.
These phishing campaigns often attempt to move conversations to another messaging platform using links that appear legitimate but lead to malware or data-harvesting sites. Once a victim is compromised, the attackers can harvest contact lists, impersonate others, and extract more sensitive data or funds.
This latest warning follows previous alerts from the FBI and Europol, which have predicted the rise of deepfakes in cybercrime, CEO fraud, and disinformation campaigns. Notably, in April 2024, LastPass revealed an incident where cybercriminals used AI voice cloning to impersonate its CEO in a phishing attempt against an employee.
The FBI urges the public to remain vigilant and avoid engaging with unsolicited messages claiming to be from high-ranking officials, especially those requesting urgent actions or personal details.
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