Scammers Clone Osceola Sheriff's Captain's Voice With AI in Fake Arrest Warrant Calls

Scammers in Osceola County are using artificial intelligence to clone the voice of a real sheriff's office captain in phone calls and voicemails that falsely tell residents they have missed jury duty or face an arrest warrant, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office warned. The calls use the name and voice of Capt. Steve Moser, along with his photo from the agency's website, to pressure people into handing over personal information or money, WKMG News 6 reported on Monday, Oct. 19.

"They cloned his voice," Sheriff Chris Blackmon told News 6, adding that the scammers were also using Moser's picture to claim it was him making the calls. The sheriff's office estimates it has seen about 40 cases this year involving scammers who impersonate law enforcement.

How the Osceola calls work

A voicemail circulating in the area identifies the caller as "Captain Steve Moser" and asks the recipient to call the sheriff's office back, according to News 6. Moser is a real captain with the agency, and his photo appears on the sheriff's office website.

The script is a familiar one with a new twist. The caller says the person has missed jury duty or has a warrant out for their arrest, and the goal is to frighten the victim into giving up personal details or, potentially, thousands of dollars, the station reported. What is different is that the voice on the line sounds like an actual Osceola County commander rather than an anonymous stranger.

The agency posted a warning on social media. It said the sheriff's office will never call anyone demanding money to resolve a warrant or a missed jury summons, and that anyone threatened with arrest unless they pay immediately should hang up.

Why a cloned voice is easier to fake than it sounds

Voice cloning no longer requires much raw material. Perry Carpenter, a cybersecurity expert interviewed by News 6, said that any person with a little curiosity can clone a voice "with a good 20 seconds of audio."

The Osceola warning is part of a wider pattern. In May 2025, the FBI issued a public service announcement warning that criminals had been sending text messages and AI-generated voice messages impersonating senior U.S. officials since April of that year, and advised that people should not assume such a message is authentic. In February 2024, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously ruled that AI-generated voices count as "artificial" voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which brings robocalls using cloned voices under the federal law's consent rules and gives state attorneys general another tool against voice-cloning scams. That ruling came weeks after AI-generated robocalls imitating President Joe Biden's voice reached voters before the New Hampshire presidential primary.

A long-running scam in Central Florida

Law enforcement impersonation calls are not new in Central Florida, and they can be costly. In July, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office said a woman in her 50s lost $34,000 after a caller posing as law enforcement persuaded her to send the money in several Bitcoin transactions, FOX 35 Orlando reported. In that case, the agency said, the caller used a spoofed number that could make a sheriff's office appear on caller ID and claimed there was an arrest warrant or a missed jury duty or court date. The Sumter County Sheriff's Office posted a similar warning at the time.

Payment demands in these schemes typically involve gift cards or cryptocurrency, according to the July warnings reported by FOX 35. The Seminole County Sheriff's Office warned residents in August 2025 about the same type of calls and texts, including some aimed at relatives of people who are on probation or in jail. In every case, the Seminole agency said, the callers demanded money and suggested that paying would make charges or fines go away. That agency said genuine law enforcement will never contact people asking for payment over the phone or by text.

What the national numbers show

Federal data show impersonation scams are a large and growing problem. The Federal Trade Commission reported in June 2026 that people said they lost $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, based on more than 1 million reports. Reported losses to government impersonators, the category that includes fake deputies, court officers and federal agents, reached about $920 million in 2025, up from $789 million in 2024, according to the FTC. Consumers also reported losing nearly $1 billion to people impersonating businesses, with bank impersonators responsible for the largest share, and the agency said overall imposter losses have nearly tripled since 2020.

Florida is a frequent target. An analysis of the FTC's Consumer Sentinel data for 2024 ranked Florida first in the nation for fraud and other consumer reports per capita, at 2,163 reports per 100,000 residents, ahead of Georgia and Delaware.

How to verify a call from law enforcement

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office and other agencies offer the same basic advice:

• Hang up on any caller who threatens arrest unless you pay right away. Deputies do not collect money over the phone to clear a warrant or a missed jury summons.
• Call the agency back using a number you look up yourself, such as the one on the sheriff's office's official website, not a number given by the caller, left in a voicemail or sent by text.
• Do not treat a familiar voice, an official photo or a legitimate-looking caller ID as proof. Scammers can fake all three, the Osceola agency warned.
• Never send money, buy gift cards, transfer cryptocurrency or share personal information because of an unsolicited call.

Victims can report impersonation scams to their local sheriff's office and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

What's next

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office has not said whether it has identified anyone behind the calls using Moser's voice, and no arrests have been announced. Residents who receive a call or voicemail claiming to come from Moser can verify it by contacting the sheriff's office through the number listed on its official website.

As voice-cloning tools become cheaper and more widely available, agencies across Florida are likely to see more scams that use the voices of real officials, which makes independent verification the most reliable defense.