AI-generated robocall impersonated President Biden ahead of NH primary

On January 21, 2024, robocalls played a message with what appeared to be an AI-generated voice clone of President Biden's voice, urging New Hampshire residents not to vote in the state's January 23, 2024 presidential primary.

Federal and state investigators later said the calls were directed by political consultant Steve Kramer and transmitted through Lingo Telecom, while New Hampshire's Election Law Unit identified Texas-based Life Corporation and an individual named Walter Monk as the source.

What happened

The robocalls also illegally spoofed their caller ID information to appear to come from a number belonging to a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair.

The FCC later described the calls as illegal robocalls made using deepfake, AI-generated voice cloning technology and caller ID spoofing to spread election misinformation to potential New Hampshire voters prior to the state's January primary presidential election.

Impact

The call-monitoring service Nomorobo estimated that between 5,000 and 25,000 calls were made.

Response

On February 6, 2024, New Hampshire's Election Law Unit issued a cease-and-desist order to Life Corporation for violating the state's voter-suppression statute, and the FCC issued a cease-and-desist letter against Lingo Telecom over the AI-generated robocall traffic.

The bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force also sent Life Corporation a letter notifying the company it had been identified as the originating calling customer responsible for transmitting the suspected illegal robocall traffic.

On May 23, 2024, the FCC proposed a substantial fine for apparently illegal robocalls made using deepfake, AI-generated voice cloning technology and caller ID spoofing to spread election misinformation to potential New Hampshire voters prior to the January primary.

On September 26, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a $6 million fine against political consultant Steve Kramer for illegal robocalls made using deepfake, AI-generated voice cloning technology and caller ID spoofing.

The Commission separately reached a settlement with Lingo Telecom under which the company agreed to pay a $1 million civil penalty and implement a first-of-its-kind compliance plan, which mandates strict adherence to the FCC's authentication rules.

Lessons for security leaders

The episode shows that inexpensive voice-cloning tools can be paired with ordinary caller ID spoofing to produce convincing impersonation campaigns at scale, so any organization relying on voice for verification or outreach should treat synthetic audio as a mainstream threat rather than a novelty. Coordinated traceback work among the New Hampshire Election Law Unit, the FCC's Enforcement Bureau and the multistate task force was what identified the originating companies, underscoring that security and legal teams facing suspected AI voice fraud should engage telecom traceback and regulatory channels quickly rather than treat it purely as an internal incident.