Chennai: As artificial intelligence makes voice cloning and deepfake technology increasingly convincing, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has urged families to adopt a simple safety measure — creating private verbal passwords to verify the identity of loved ones during suspicious phone calls.
Vembu’s suggestion comes amid growing concerns that AI-generated voices can convincingly imitate family members and potentially be used to trick people into transferring money or sharing sensitive information.
A simple password could prevent a costly mistake
Vembu suggested that family members agree on a secret verbal password that can be used during an unexpected or unusual call. The password would act as an additional layer of verification when a caller claims to be a relative or someone known to the family.
The idea is particularly useful because familiar voices can no longer be treated as reliable proof of identity when advanced AI tools can reproduce them convincingly.
AI voice scams are becoming harder to detect
Traditional fraud warnings often advise people to be cautious when callers demand urgent payments or personal information. However, AI-generated voice technology adds another challenge by allowing scammers to imitate the voice of someone the victim knows.
This can make emotional manipulation more effective, particularly when the caller claims to be facing an emergency and asks for immediate help.
Families urged to stay alert
A pre-agreed verbal password could give families a quick way to establish whether an unexpected caller is genuine before taking any action.
Experts and technology leaders have increasingly stressed the importance of verifying unusual requests independently rather than relying solely on a familiar voice.
As AI technology continues to evolve, Vembu’s suggestion highlights an important lesson: in an era of convincing digital impersonation, verification should become a family habit.