Scammers use AI voice cloning to target thousands in the Netherlands
Scammers are using artificial intelligence to clone voices and impersonate trusted institutions, fueling a dramatic spike in fraudulent phone calls across the Netherlands, according to AD. Nearly 10,000 scam call reports were filed in the first quarter of 2025 alone, according to the national Fraud Help Desk.
Between January and March, the Fraud Help Desk received 9,793 reports of suspicious calls — more than triple the 3,031 recorded during the same period last year. While not all incidents resulted in financial losses, the scale and speed of the rise have alarmed experts and sparked urgent calls for stronger fraud prevention laws.
“This increase has been noticeable for some time,” Tanya Wijngaarde, spokesperson for the Fraud Help Desk, told AD. “In 2024, we already saw a doubling in reports of phone scams compared to the year before.”
Most reports involve "helpdesk fraud," in which callers impersonate support staff from major companies such as Microsoft or Netflix. Another common scheme is bank helpdesk fraud, where scammers pose as bank employees or payment service agents to gain access to victims’ accounts. In 2024, victims of this form of fraud lost an average of 21,500 euros per case.
Cybercrime expert Anouk Vos said the surge in scams is no coincidence. Artificial intelligence has made voice impersonation easier, faster, and more convincing than ever — and in many cases, freely accessible.
“Criminals run business cases too,” Vos told AD. “Scamming someone over the phone used to be a hassle. You had to sound credible, which was hard. The tech wasn’t good enough, it cost money, and it required a lot of skill.”
That changed rapidly over the last 18 months, she said. Scammers now use AI software that can clone entire voices — complete with emotional tone — in just seconds.
“Not robotic — it sounds real, with emotion”
“That software only needs a few seconds to mimic an entire voice,” Vos said. “Not robotic — it sounds real, with emotion.” She added that other AI tools allow criminals to gather detailed personal information about targets and generate entire scam scripts in seconds. “And a lot of these tools are free, which makes them even more appealing.”
The rise in AI-driven phone fraud has renewed pressure on Dutch lawmakers to intervene. The Fraud Help Desk urged the government last year to take action. NLconnect, the Dutch telecom industry association, echoed those concerns, calling phone fraud a “persistent problem.”
“It’s a multi-headed monster,” said NLconnect director, Mathieu Andriessen, to AD. “Providers, banks, and law enforcement all need to be involved. But right now, it’s difficult.”
Andriessen pointed to legal barriers under the current Telecommunications Act, which allow telecom providers to collect metadata — such as the duration and direction of calls — but prohibit them from processing or sharing it with banks or authorities.
That restriction prevents timely intervention in many cases, he said. “In many cases, the scammer is still on the line while the victim is transferring the money,” Andriessen said. “If a bank sees a suspicious transaction and knows the customer is actively on a call, that could be a critical warning sign.”
Until that changes, he said, financial institutions remain in the dark. “As long as we’re not allowed to process or share call data, fraud prevention is limited,” he said. “And in the meantime, consumers continue to suffer.”
