Thai PM says nearly fell for foreign leader phone scam

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra almost fell victim to a phone scam using AI to impersonate a foreign leader's voice, she said Wednesday.
The PM, the youngest daughter of telecoms billionaire and ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said she received a message in a voice sounding identical to a well-known leader, without identifying the person.
In the clip, he said he was looking forward to seeing me and working together, she said.
She missed a call from the same number during the night, before a second voice message the next day aroused her suspicions.
The voice said Thailand is the only ASEAN country which has not yet made a donation -- when I heard that, I thought 'this is not right', she said.
A text message asking for money to be sent to a bank account outside Thailand soon followed, confirming her doubts.
I knew it for sure when I saw that, she said.
Paetongtarn did not say when she received the messages.
So-called call centre scams are common in Thailand, in which fraudsters impersonate police, government officials or bank staff -- often using automated robocalls' to make the first contact.
Paetongtarn, 38, last week declared more than $400 million in assets to Thailand's anti-corruption commission.
Her father Thaksin -- who once owned Manchester City football club -- has a net worth of $2.1 billion, according to Forbes, making him the 10th-richest person in Thailand.

(2025/01/16 18:59)