In an age where scammers can use artificial intelligence (AI) to replicate someone’s voice from just a few seconds of audio, it can be tough for someone on the receiving end of a scam call to know it’s not actually a close friend or family member who needs, more often than not, financial help.
The scams that are so prevalent today aren’t like they used to be, where odd speech patterns or misspellings in an email would lead the receiver to easily disregard the message. Just a few years ago, even when it was a phone call, the volume of scams was limited by the fact that a human was on the other end of the line. Both the volume and the effectiveness of scams has exploded since the advent of AI.
That’s what led Shelburne resident Jesse Seaver to develop the mobile app Trust Onion. This app, which is free to download on the App Store and Google Play Store, has around 400 families currently using its services, according to Seaver.
“We’re all pretty aware of the AI scams that are happening, and more and more, one of the growing trends is voice-cloning scams,” Seaver said. “It’s very easy, actually, to record less than 30 seconds of anyone’s voice, which you can get from social media, voicemail, an interview in the press. … Anywhere you can get the voice, it doesn’t matter what they’re saying. You can get a pretty shockingly good replica of that voice.”
The way the app works is quite simple. Requiring no sign-up with an email or a phone number, one member of a group or family can download the app and send an invitation through a link to join the group. Once that invitation has been accepted, every 60 seconds, three new code words will pop up on the screen of each person’s phone within the app, which can be said over the phone to confirm you’re really talking to who you think you are.
For an extra layer of protection, someone on the phone can ask for a “proofie,” which is a selfie that the other person sends through the app. According to Seaver, this uses the same metadata that is used in Apple’s Face ID. Within this metadata, someone would be able to see if the person really is where they’re claiming to be, as well as the time that they took the photo.
“Forensically, you can break down the proofie and be like, ‘Yep, this person with that passkey took a picture of themselves here, at that date and time,'” Seaver said. “It’s the exact same technology, it literally uses the Face ID built into your iPhone. I didn’t reinvent Face ID, I’m just using it for a different purpose.”
What drove Seaver to create this app, he said, was the fact that he has an older parent. According to the American Bar Association, adults over the age of 60 are much more likely to fall for telephone scams, regardless of whether the scammers use AI. The FBI reported that these types of scams have resulted in losses of upwards of $3 billion a year.
On Trust Onion’s website, trustonion.io, Seaver has a section titled “News Desk,” which he updates with any new stories he finds about AI voice clones. Within one week’s time, eight new stories were added, with Seaver saying he finds new instances of this type of scam being used every day.
“I know that there’s more and more stories every day, basically, about the problem that [Trust Onion] is trying to solve,” Seaver said. “I feel confident that I built something that people need as opposed to building something people don’t need, which I’ve also done.”
Keeping the app free was important to Seaver so that it could be accessible and used by whoever needs it. The app does offer “White Label” services for businesses who conduct more large-scale operations involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, though Seaver said he wants to make it clear that there’s no better version of the app — the free version available on the app store is the best version available.
“It was a big decision to make from the business perspective, because there’s no revenue from a free app,” Seaver said. “I’m confident that there’s going to be white label and enterprise applications for the app that will make up for that, and I think it’s more important everybody and anybody can use this app to protect them from scams, as opposed to getting scared away because it’s $5 a month.”
Even though Trust Onion provides layers of authentication (which is where the business gets its name), Seaver said the smartest thing to do if you suspect a scam is to hang up the phone and call back a trusted number.
“I want to urge people to really be more vigilant than ever before regarding calls and texts. If it sounds wrong, don’t ever hesitate to hang up and call the company or person back directly,” Seaver said. “Trust Onion makes having a secure code word easy and is a great everyday tool. However, the most important thing is that people truly change how they view a voice as proof of identity, because unfortunately in today’s age, it no longer is. If in doubt, ask for the code words, and never be afraid to hang up and call the person back.”
