Somewhere out there, a synthetic voice is calling powerful people and saying, “Hi, this is Marco Rubio.” And they’re buying it.
According to a leaked State Department cable and senior U.S. officials, someone pretending to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio used AI voice and writing tools to contact at least five high-level figures, including three foreign ministers, one governor, and a member of Congress. The impostor used Signal, the encrypted messaging app now infamous for White House group chats and accidental leaks, to leave voicemails and text messages in what authorities are calling a “malicious impersonation campaign.”
The goal? Gain access to private information—or possibly just prove how laughably fragile our communications infrastructure is.
AI Marco Rubio, Reporting for Deception
The impostor began the operation in mid-June, creating a Signal profile with the very legit-sounding display name: “Marco.Rubio@state.gov” (Spoiler: not his actual email.) From there, they sent messages mimicking Rubio’s voice and written tone using off-the-shelf AI tools. All it took was 20 seconds of real audio, a little tech magic, and a lie big enough to walk through any digital door.
Authorities still don’t know who’s behind the voice. But they believe the aim was to manipulate government officials “with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts.” Whether that worked is unclear—U.S. officials are staying tight-lipped on whether anyone actually replied.
The State Department is now investigating and warning diplomats to report any similar attempts to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. For everyone else: if AI Marco Rubio texts you, maybe don’t answer.
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Deepfake Diplomacy, Signal Scandals, and the Wild West of Washington
This isn’t the first AI impersonation to spook Washington. In May, a hacker breached White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’s phone and started calling around pretending to be her. Trump brushed it off—“There’s only one Susie,” he said—but the FBI didn’t agree, launching a full investigation.
Then there’s the so-called “Signalgate” incident from earlier this year, when now-ousted national security adviser Mike Waltz accidentally added a journalist to a Signal chat discussing minute-by-minute military attack plans in Yemen. That group included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Rubio himself, and—just for fun—Hegseth’s wife, brother, and personal attorney.
Waltz took the fall, and Rubio took his seat as interim national security adviser. But the fallout continues: Waltz is now prepping for a Senate confirmation hearing to become U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Yes, really.
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“You’ve Reached Fake Marco. Please Leave Your Secrets After the Beep.”
Experts say this kind of operation is surprisingly easy to pull off.
“You just need 15 to 20 seconds of audio,” said UC Berkeley digital forensics professor Hany Farid. “You upload it, click a button that says ‘I have permission to use this voice,’ and you’re in.”
Leaving voicemails is especially effective because there’s no chance of being questioned live. Just drop the fake voice, make your ask, and hope the listener’s sense of urgency beats their skepticism.
This isn’t just a prank—it’s a preview of a much bigger problem. The FBI issued a warning in May that AI-driven impersonation attacks are on the rise, targeting high-level officials in the U.S., Canada, Ukraine, and beyond. These scams don’t require deep pockets or spy agencies—just a laptop, an internet connection, and a healthy disrespect for privacy laws.
And while the government is scrambling to implement cybersecurity “safeguards,” many officials are still using Signal and other unsecured apps for sensitive business. (Despite the Pentagon literally banning that practice in 2023.)
In other words: we built a digital government on convenience, and now we’re surprised it’s hackable.
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