Samoa police are investigating more than 10 cases in which people have fallen prey to scammers suspected of using a special app to imitate voices.
Police Commissioner Auapa’au Logoitino Filipo said people have been duped into giving money to scammers who used the app to change their voices to sound like businesspeople and politicians.
“This is going way too far. We would like to send out a message to the public to beware of these con artists and scammers because they can go out of their way to get money,” Auapa’au said.
The Samoa Observer reports that the new cases involve members of the business community and the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Labor, Leatinu’u Wayne Sooialo.
The latest case involves a businesswoman in Vailima who was scammed by someone pretending to be “Fong Chan Sau,” a well-known businessman.
Brenda Lee-Lo had already reported the incident to police headquarters on Saturday morning, explaining how she lost $600 to a stranger she believed was a relative of Fong Chan Sau, who is a close friend of hers.
She said she fell for the scam because the voice she heard was exactly like Fong Chan Sau’s.
She realized she had been scammed after calling Mr. Chan Sau directly.
“I was so amazed at how this person turned his voice into Fong’s voice—that’s why I fell for this scam,” she said.
