“Hitting South Africa Hard”: Man Warns of New Scam Stealing People’s Voices

• Michael Buswell, who helps people stay safe online, told people about a scam that steals voices
• After explaining what the scammers planned to do, he shared how one could avoid falling victim to it
• The online crowd took to the comment section to share what they did when they encountered scammers

TikTok user Michael Buswell, also known as @thatcybersafetyguy, warned South Africans that scammers had found a new way to scam people's families. He revealed that the online suspects clone their victims' voices, news that stunned people online.

The young man, who posted his informative video on 3 October, 2025, asked in his post:

"Have you ever gotten one of those phone calls when someone phones you and is completely dead silent? What these scammers are doing is recording what you say when you answer the phone, or they grab your WhatsApp voice note."

The content creator noted that, with such a small sample, the scammers can build fake versions of your voice using artificial intelligence.

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"They'll phone your mom, acting as though you're in trouble, and ask for money to be sent to an account. This is hitting South Africa hard."

Michael advised that, should you get such a silent phone call, the best thing to do is not say anything, create a family safe word, and always verify a voice, as it can be easily cloned.

New scam sparks a conversation

Several local internet users gathered in the comment section, sharing their experiences with scammers and their encounters with unknown numbers. People also revealed how they had reacted to dodgy phone calls.

@._naledi._ informed social media users:

"That's why I answer all my unknown calls in a different language every time until the other person responds."

@wolfbait_2 shared under the post:

"My mum had this. I had already told her about this type of scam, and we created a safe word. They didn't know it, so she knew then it was a scam."

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@zanokuhle787, who showed concern, stated:

"We are in trouble. Now they are basically stealing our voices. I always wondered why we get so many calls with no one speaking. Thank goodness I kept quiet and hung up quickly when I got that silly call. I blocked the number after that."

@ken_is_here_today had taken precaution and noted:

"Luckily, my phone blocks all unknown callers. I haven’t spoken to a stranger on the phone since 2022."

@vanessazarni had no plans of speaking to strangers on the other end of the line and exclaimed:

"Let the breathing olympics begin!"

@asapopsie wrote to the public in the comment section:

"AI will destroy lives. One day, someone will go to jail for something they didn't do."

Watch the TikTok video posted on Michael's account below:

3 Other stories about scams

• In another article, Briefly News reported that a South African content creator warned people about a bank scam. He showed what would happen when clicking a bogus bank's link.
• A woman entertained herself when she had a conversation with a 'customs' scammer about an illegal parcel at a local airport. The scammer eventually ended the call when he realised that he had become the subject of a joke.
• Multi-award-winning actress Leleti Khumalo warned her fans about scammers fraudulently using her brand to promote a drug. Internet users highlighted the growing concern of celebrities being scammers' targets.

Source: Briefly News