A new type of phone scam uses AI to replicate the voices of loved ones to convince us to send money to malicious actors. WSJ family and tech columnist Julie Jargon describes how the scam works and what you can do to avoid falling victim to it. And, new U.S. tariffs and the closure of a popular trade loophole could spell trouble for bargain-app maker Shein’s business bringing Americans fast fashion from China. WSJ reporter Shen Lu explains. Victoria Craig hosts.
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[00:00:30] Hey TNB listeners, before we get started, a heads up. We're going to be asking you a question at the top of each show for the next few weeks. Our goal here at Tech News Briefing is to keep you updated with the latest headlines and trends on all things tech. Now we want to know more about you, what you like about the show, and what more you'd like to be hearing from us. Our question this week is, what would you like to hear from the tech headlines? If you're listening on Spotify, look for our poll under the episode description,
[00:00:57] or you can send us an email to tnb at wsj.com. Now on to the show. Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Wednesday, April 16th. I'm Victoria Craig for The Wall Street Journal. Chinese bargain app Shein made the U.S. one of its biggest markets. Now its formula is crumbling under the weight of President Trump's tariffs.
[00:01:21] Then our family and tech columnist explains a voice cloning twist on a scam that's cheated Americans out of billions of dollars. But first, duty-free shipping plus ultra-cheap fashion used to equal a winning combination for China's e-commerce clothing giant, Shein. Thanks to a nimble supply chain across Asia, the company has been able to offer cheap prices to consumers in the U.S.
[00:01:45] But all of that could rapidly change thanks to the one-two punch of new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and the closure of a popular exemption called the de minimis provision. WSJ reporter Shen Liu covers the intersection of technology and society in China. Shen Liu, walk us through this now closed loophole and how that could make it more costly for Shein to import goods to America.
[00:02:07] De minimis is a trade provision that allows small packages value at or under $800 to come to the U.S. without custom screening, without paying tariffs. And it's for products from all over the country, not just from China. But the Trump administration is closing the trade provision for China imports only.
[00:02:34] And Shein hasn't been completely caught off guard by this in a way because it's been making moves to try to shield itself from actions like this. The impact of souring relations between the U.S. and China. Yeah, Shein has been diversifying its supply chains over the past few years. Other than China, Shein is now also producing manufacturing in Brazil and in Turkey.
[00:03:04] They also have a partnership in India. But those are not their main manufacturing base. The main manufacturing base is still in China. So obviously we know that the whole point of these tariffs is to try to encourage companies, force companies to move more manufacturing to America. Shein has talked about moving some of its manufacturing to the U.S. But how likely is that looking? It's hard for every company to bring back manufacturing to the U.S.
[00:03:33] And it's harder for Shein because it has been in the center of U.S.-China geopolitical tension for the past few years. Even if Shein intends to manufacture in the U.S. somehow, it's hard to imagine that China wouldn't put Shein under pressure for doing that. Did you reach out to Shein for comment on all of this? Shein didn't reply to our request for comment.
[00:04:00] So for customers, at least in the U.S., for now, it could mean higher prices if Shein continues to export to America. But does it really need the U.S. market or can it look elsewhere? Can it look maybe to expand its businesses in Europe to make up for the American customers it could lose? Shein's Europe business has been growing very fast, faster than the U.S. market in the past year. So it is growing elsewhere. And Shein sells to more than 150 countries.
[00:04:30] But the U.S. is such a biggest market. And people purchase more frequently in the U.S. than in Europe. Analysts told me American consumers buy more and buy more frequently from Shein than European consumers. So could Amazon potentially be a winner in all of this if Shein decides not to continue to pursue U.S. customers because the prices are just too high? I don't think Shein will stop pursuing the U.S. customers.
[00:04:59] It all depends on what the ultimate trade policy is because we are still weeks from May 2nd. Things may change. After May 2nd, Shein and Timu would have to pay Trump's new tariffs on China plus the base tariff, which could amount to near 150%. And so, I mean, we'll have to wait and see how much price they will add on their products.
[00:05:27] But Amazon is also subject to new China tariffs. Everybody is going to be more expensive. That was WSJ reporter Shen Liu. Coming up, the dark side of AI. How scammers are using our voices against the people we love. That's after the break. Have you ever been scammed?
[00:05:56] Well, a few years ago, I was sitting at work when the phone rang. It looked like the call was coming from the Kansas City Police Department. I grew up in that area, so fearing the worst for my family, I picked up. The person at the other end told me there was a warrant out for my arrest. And to resolve it, I would need to buy gift cards and give him the redemption numbers. I knew it was fake. But despite my better judgment, I stayed on the line for nearly an hour.
[00:06:22] It took my boss pulling the phone out of my hand and pushing end for me to actually disconnect the call. Wall Street Journal family and tech columnist Julie Jargon has written about a new kind of scam that works in much the same way. But with the help of AI, it can be much more convincing. So, Julie, tell us about how this type of scam works. Yeah, so there's this whole category of fraud called imposter scams. And that's where someone impersonates somebody that you know.
[00:06:52] And in some cases, they can actually do a really good job of that by using generative AI to create a voice that sounds just like that of someone you know. Or that can approximate the voice of someone you know. And these are cheap tools that are available online. And you talked to someone who fell victim to this kind of scam. Yeah, I talked to this woman named Linda Rohn, who lives in Colorado. And one night, she was at home making herself dinner. And the phone rang.
[00:07:21] And the call was from a local number. So she picked up. And she immediately heard the voice of a young woman that she said sounded just like one of her daughters saying, Mom, I'm okay, but something awful has happened. And I need your help. This mother did what any mother would do and immediately went into sort of panic mode wondering what has happened. Apparently, the phone got taken away and a man came on the line and said that her daughter had witnessed a drug deal and screamed and scared away the buyers.
[00:07:49] And now he was out a lot of money and he needed her, Linda, to wire him money to make things right. And if she didn't do that, he would not release her daughter who he had pulled into the back of a van. She ended up doing a wire transfer online and wired $1,000 and then another $1,000. Finally, the whole thing was over. And she called her daughter to see if she was okay and found out that this hadn't happened at all to her daughter. Her daughter was safe at home.
[00:08:17] You know, I was shocked to see how easy it is to clone someone's voice. Just walk us through how this process works. Yeah, so there's a couple of different methods that criminals can use. One is actual voice cloning where you take a snippet of audio and you can create a likeness from that. All it takes is three seconds of audio to clone a voice with about 85% accuracy. And that's according to McAfee, which is a security software firm.
[00:08:45] And people have so much data online, especially young people that have social media accounts and are posting TikTok videos and YouTube videos. So there's a wealth of online audio from people. And so especially when these scammers are targeting people who have children of, you know, who are in their 20s and 30s and up, it's not hard to find voice clips of people that can be cloned.
[00:09:09] And then there's also a lot of voice changing apps that are free or inexpensive that can be found on app stores. And it's not a voice clone per se, but it's a way to change your voice to sound like someone younger or someone with a different accent or someone of a different gender. So that's another way that people can easily create voices that might sound like a 25-year-old in Texas or whatever.
[00:09:32] And like you say, if that happens, you become more vulnerable to a scam like this because they've got basic information about who you might be talking to. So you're more inclined to believe that it is who they say it is on the other end of the phone. I'm curious, Julie, you report on tech and the growing use of AI. How did you come across this scam and how pervasive is it? How prevalent is it in society now? It is rather pervasive.
[00:09:56] The Federal Trade Commission has identified imposter scams as the most reported type of scam last year. And people have lost in total. These are just reported cases because a lot of people don't end up reporting that this even happens. But it's resulted in losses of nearly $3 billion. And the FBI has put out a warning about these kind of voice-related scams using AI. It's definitely on the rise and the technology is making these things more believable.
[00:10:24] So how can we as consumers, as everyday people, protect ourselves against falling for this kind of scam? So some of the things you can do are create a code word with family members. Something that's unique but easy to remember with like your closest family members. So that if anyone does receive a suspicious call, you can ask, what's the code word? And if that person can't say it, then it's a pretty good tip off that it's a scam and you should just hang up. And you should always try to verify that, you know, who you're talking to on the phone is really that person.
[00:10:54] And there are a couple of ways to do that in the moment. You can text that person. You can also, if you share locations with your family members, you can check your phone and see where is that person. So there are a few different methods for trying to safeguard against this. That was WSJ Family and Tech columnist Julie Jargon. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. Today's show was produced by Julie Chang with Deputy Editors Chris Dinsley and Scott Salloway. I'm Victoria Craig for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back this afternoon with TNB Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.