AI scammer posing as Marco Rubio targets officials in growing threat
7/9/2025 2:49:00 PM
An unknown fraudster has used artificial intelligence to impersonate the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, contacting at least five senior officials.
According to a state department cable first seen by the Washington Post and confirmed by the Guardian, the impostor sent fake voice messages and texts that mimicked Rubio’s voice and writing style to those targets including three foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of Congress.
The cable, dated 3 July, said the impostor “left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals” and sent text messages inviting others to communicate on the platform.
It’s still a mystery who is behind the Rubio scam, but the cable reads that the goal had been “gaining access to information or accounts” of powerful government officials.
“The state department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,” said a senior state department official. “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents. For security reasons, and due to our ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to offer further details at this time.”
The threat of AI impersonators has become increasingly common across government agencies. The state department cable included details that the actor impersonating Rubio created the account in mid-June and was similar to other activity in May when someone impersonated other senior US government officials. That is likely a reference to the impersonator who pretended to be White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and reached out to her personal contacts and one lawmaker.
David Axelrod, who served as senior adviser to Barack Obama, said the AI scam using Rubio was “only a matter of time” and urged urgent action to defend against such attacks.
“A Marco Rubio impostor is using AI voice to call high-level officials,” Axelrod wrote on X. “This is the new world in which we live and we’d better figure out how to defend against it because of its implications for our democracy and the world.”
At a dangerous moment for dissent in the United States
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you close this tab, I wanted to ask if you could support the Guardian at this crucial time for journalism.
When the military is deployed to quell overwhelmingly peaceful protest, when elected officials of the opposing party are arrested or handcuffed, when student activists are jailed and deported, and when a wide range of civic institutions – non-profits, law firms, universities, news outlets, the arts, the civil service, scientists – are targeted and penalised by the United States federal government, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that our core freedoms are disappearing before our eyes – and democracy itself is slipping away.
In any country on the cusp of authoritarianism, the role of the press as an engine of scrutiny, truth and accountability becomes increasingly critical. At the Guardian, we see it as our job not only to report on the suppression of dissenting voices, but to make sure those voices are heard.
Not every news organisation sees its mission this way – indeed, some in the US have been pressured by their corporate and billionaire owners to avoid antagonising the government. I am thankful the Guardian is different.
Our only financial obligation is to fund independent journalism in perpetuity: we have no ultrarich owner, no shareholders, no corporate bosses with the power to overrule or influence our editorial decisions. Reader support is what guarantees our survival and safeguards our independence – and every penny we receive is reinvested in our work.
The Guardian’s global perspective helps contextualise and illuminate what we are experiencing in this country. That doesn’t mean we have a single viewpoint, but we do have a shared set of values. Humanity, curiosity and honesty guide us, and our work is rooted in solidarity with ordinary people and hope for our shared future.
According to a state department cable first seen by the Washington Post and confirmed by the Guardian, the impostor sent fake voice messages and texts that mimicked Rubio’s voice and writing style to those targets including three foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of Congress.
The cable, dated 3 July, said the impostor “left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals” and sent text messages inviting others to communicate on the platform.
It’s still a mystery who is behind the Rubio scam, but the cable reads that the goal had been “gaining access to information or accounts” of powerful government officials.
“The state department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,” said a senior state department official. “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents. For security reasons, and due to our ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to offer further details at this time.”
The threat of AI impersonators has become increasingly common across government agencies. The state department cable included details that the actor impersonating Rubio created the account in mid-June and was similar to other activity in May when someone impersonated other senior US government officials. That is likely a reference to the impersonator who pretended to be White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and reached out to her personal contacts and one lawmaker.
David Axelrod, who served as senior adviser to Barack Obama, said the AI scam using Rubio was “only a matter of time” and urged urgent action to defend against such attacks.
“A Marco Rubio impostor is using AI voice to call high-level officials,” Axelrod wrote on X. “This is the new world in which we live and we’d better figure out how to defend against it because of its implications for our democracy and the world.”
At a dangerous moment for dissent in the United States
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you close this tab, I wanted to ask if you could support the Guardian at this crucial time for journalism.
When the military is deployed to quell overwhelmingly peaceful protest, when elected officials of the opposing party are arrested or handcuffed, when student activists are jailed and deported, and when a wide range of civic institutions – non-profits, law firms, universities, news outlets, the arts, the civil service, scientists – are targeted and penalised by the United States federal government, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that our core freedoms are disappearing before our eyes – and democracy itself is slipping away.
In any country on the cusp of authoritarianism, the role of the press as an engine of scrutiny, truth and accountability becomes increasingly critical. At the Guardian, we see it as our job not only to report on the suppression of dissenting voices, but to make sure those voices are heard.
Not every news organisation sees its mission this way – indeed, some in the US have been pressured by their corporate and billionaire owners to avoid antagonising the government. I am thankful the Guardian is different.
Our only financial obligation is to fund independent journalism in perpetuity: we have no ultrarich owner, no shareholders, no corporate bosses with the power to overrule or influence our editorial decisions. Reader support is what guarantees our survival and safeguards our independence – and every penny we receive is reinvested in our work.
The Guardian’s global perspective helps contextualise and illuminate what we are experiencing in this country. That doesn’t mean we have a single viewpoint, but we do have a shared set of values. Humanity, curiosity and honesty guide us, and our work is rooted in solidarity with ordinary people and hope for our shared future.