Phishing emails claiming you have a new voicemail are on the rise, and experts say AI is making them harder to spot.
A new phishing scam is hitting inboxes, and it's designed to play a simple psychological trick — it looks like it's coming from your own phone or message system.
The subject line may read "You've received a new voicemail" or "Missed call notification." Scammers are counting on you to think you may have missed an important call.
Ken Colburn of Data Doctors says there's been an uptick in these emails.
"It's like an updated AI version of the old email scams," Colburn said.
"It's the same game that it's always been, but now it's being presented as a voice message," Colburn said.
The emails are typically vague — and that's on purpose.
"You'll get an email notification saying that you have a voice message. But if you haven't signed up for one of these services, and you get these emails, it's just another scammer's first attempt to try to get you to communicate with them," Colburn said.
The lack of detail is intentional.
"They're just trying to get you to go, what the heck is this? And try to get you to click on the link," Colburn said.
But what's behind the link isn't real. Colburn said scammers can "booby trap" a file that looks like a voicemail, and it could be malicious. The link may also be designed to scare you into calling a phone number, to start the process of taking advantage of you — because they're hoping you'll be concerned about the contents of the voicemail.
"So, the scammers have said, okay, we got to switch it up," Colburn said.
How to protect yourself
Here's what to do if one of these emails lands in your inbox:
- Treat every unsolicited voicemail email as suspicious.
- If you think it could be legitimate, go to your known voicemail portal or app directly — don't click any links in the email.
- Hover your mouse over any "play" or "listen" links to see where they lead. If the link doesn't clearly show your company's domain or a trusted provider, delete it.
- Share this warning with friends, family, and coworkers.
- Remember: curiosity is natural, but slow down and think twice. No real voicemail will require you to log in through a random link in your inbox.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
