Victoria Police warn of AI voice-cloned doctor scam targeting Mandarin

Victoria Police's cybercrime unit issued a formal warning on October 1, 2026, after documenting at least 10 reports of a sophisticated voice-cloning scam targeting Mandarin-speaking residents across Victoria, Australia ABC News. The scam used artificial intelligence to replicate the voices of doctors, general practitioners, surgeons, and medical professionals known to victims, then instructed targets to purchase gift cards and transmit redemption codes via text message.

Method and Scale of Losses

The scammers exploited trust and urgency by impersonating healthcare professionals and, in some cases, leveraging victims' names to appear credible. One victim lost A$50,000 after purchasing gift cards over three consecutive days SBS. Another victim was defrauded of A$40,000 after a caller posing as a medical professional exploited concerns about an urgent health issue and requested immediate payment via gift cards News.com.au.

The targeting of Mandarin-speaking residents suggests either community-specific research by the scammers or deliberate selection based on language capability and cultural context. Detective Acting Inspector Eleanor Vallas of Victoria Police's cybercrime unit urged residents not to comply with requests from callers claiming to be medical professionals and asking for gift card codes or financial information.

Official Guidance and Recommended Actions

Victoria Police advised victims and residents to:

• End suspicious calls immediately if callers request gift cards or financial information.

• Never provide gift-card redemption codes or personal financial details by phone, regardless of the caller's claimed identity.

• Independently verify the legitimacy of any caller by contacting the relevant clinic or medical institution using a number obtained from official sources or a verified directory.

• Report suspected incidents to Victoria Police, Crime Stoppers, or ReportCyber.

The warning represents one of the first documented large-scale instances of AI voice cloning being deployed in a coordinated fraud campaign targeting a specific cultural community in Australia. The scam demonstrates how AI-generated audio synthesis has moved beyond proof-of-concept demonstrations into operational criminal use, with measurable financial impact and victim numbers.