Scammers cloned an Osceola County, Florida, sheriff's captain's voice with AI to run fake warrant calls. Officials in eight states have warned about similar tricks.
Scammers in Florida used AI to copy the voice and photo of a real sheriff's captain, then called people claiming they had missed jury duty or faced an arrest warrant. The Osceola County Sheriff's Office says the captain, Steve Moser, never made those calls. Sheriff Chris Blackmon put it this way: "It's his voice, his face... the entire thing's AI."
The sheriff's office first heard about the scheme from a post on Nextdoor, a neighborhood social network. It then warned residents on social media. The office says it has seen about 40 cases this year of scammers pretending to be law enforcement.
Voice cloning means software that copies how a person sounds from a recording. A caller can then say anything in that voice. Newsweek found warnings or cases in Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, California, Arizona, Michigan and New York.
The jury duty story is not new, but a familiar voice makes it harder to doubt. In Kentucky, the FBI said 475 government-impersonation complaints were filed in 2025, with reported losses above $3.15 million. It said the most common version involved fake sheriff's office calls about missed jury duty or court dates.
In North Carolina, Durham County deputies described a resident who got a fake letter during a call. It claimed they owed $30,000 for missing federal court. In June, the Federal Trade Commission warned about callers posing as U.S. Marshals or local police, sometimes sending fake warrant papers.
Anyone with a phone could get one of these calls. Officials in Arizona and Michigan say scammers can pull audio posted online, which makes people who share videos or voice clips easier to copy. Arizona officials add that callers can also fake the number shown on your screen. The same trick can be used to pose as a relative in trouble who needs money fast.
The alert box above lists the exact steps. The core idea is simple: a real agency will not need payment on the spot to avoid arrest, so stop the call and check through a number you found yourself.
The material does not say how many people in Osceola County lost money, or where the scammers got Moser's voice. It also does not say who is behind the calls. Officials say the scams are growing and that the technology makes them sound more real, so expect more warnings from other counties and states.
If a caller who sounds official or familiar demands money, hang up and call back on a number you look up yourself.
Scammers are emailing Humboldt County well permit applicants and demanding $5,960 before a permit is issued. The county says the fee is fake.
Read more: Fake County Emails Demand $5,960 Fee for Well PermitsCallers posing as the Sheriff's Office told a Sarasota County woman she missed jury duty. She lost over $40,000, and the same scam is hitting others.
Read more: Fake jury duty calls cost one Florida woman over $40,000Europol warns that scam callers can fake the number on your screen, so the safest move is to hang up and call back using a number you found yourself.
Read more: Got a suspicious call? Hang up and look up the number yourself
