Trumbull woman loses life savings after scammers use AI to copy daughter's voice

Artificial intelligence was used to swindle Peggy Marcinko out of her life savings. 

News 12 Staff

Jun 5, 2023, 11:51 PM

Updated 569 days ago

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A retired nurse in Trumbull lost her life savings after con artists used the voice of her daughter to make her think she had been in an accident.
Artificial intelligence was used to swindle Peggy Marcinko out of her life savings. 
Someone posing as police told Marcinko that her daughter has been in a crash and injured a pregnant woman in Bridgeport and needed bail money.
The key was that they had the voice of her daughter crying and asking for help on the call. 
Marcinko went to the bank and took out $15,000 then gave it to a driver. 
Another call came saying the baby had died and she needed to give more money for medical bills 
When she contacted her daughter, she realized she had been tricked. 
“She is trusting that is me on the phone, doesn't call me, goes to the bank…They coach her how to lie and to say it's for home improvements,” says daughter Sue Thibodeau. 
Thibodeau says it's important to talk with your parents about how convincing con artists can be and to set up a code word to use in real emergencies. 
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Marcinko recover.