What happened
On 15 May 2025 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center published a public service announcement describing a campaign running since April 2025 in which malicious actors impersonated senior US federal and state officials using text messages and AI-generated voice messages. The FBI said the aim was to build rapport with contacts of those officials, then move them to attacker-controlled platforms and compromise their personal or official accounts. Compromised accounts were then used to reach further officials and to harvest contact details for follow-on impersonation and fraud. The FBI reissued an updated warning in December 2025.
How the deception worked
The campaign traded on the recipient's relationship with a named senior official rather than on any technical exploit. An initial text or voicemail in a cloned voice established that the official was reaching out personally, which for a colleague or former colleague is unremarkable. Once a reply came, targets were invited to continue on a separate messaging platform, a request that reads as security-conscious in government circles, and the link supplied there led to a credential-harvesting page or a device-linking flow. Each successful compromise fed the next round, since messages arriving from a genuinely compromised official account carry far more weight than any spoof.
AI involvement · Confirmed AI-enabled
The FBI stated that malicious actors were sending AI-generated voice messages, alongside text messages, that purported to come from senior US officials.
The control that would have caught it· our reading, not a claim from the sources
Officials and their contacts should verify unexpected outreach through a separately known number or channel, and adopt phishing-resistant authentication on personal accounts, which are typically the weak point rather than official systems.
Sources (2)
- Senior US Officials Impersonated in Malicious Messaging Campaign (PSA250515)FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center·ic3.govOpen ↗
- FBI warns senior US officials are being impersonated using texts, AI-based voice cloningCybersecurity Dive·cybersecuritydive.comOpen ↗
This entry summarises public reporting. It is not a legal finding, and details can change as investigations conclude. Found an error? Send a correction.