An imposter posing as Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly used artificial intelligence to mimic his voice and writing in messages sent to senior U.S. and foreign officials.
Deepfake audio and fabricated messages targeted at least five high-level figures — three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor and a member of Congress — via SMS text and the encrypted app Signal, a senior U.S. official confirmed to The Washington Post on Tuesday. The scheme aimed to extract sensitive information or account access, according to a Thursday State Department cable reviewed by the outlet. (RELATED: RFK Jr. Tells Tucker Carlson Marco Rubio Has Undergone ‘Incredible Transformation’)
“You just need 15 to 20 seconds of audio of the person, which is easy in Marco Rubio’s case,” Hany Farid, a digital forensics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, told the Post. “You upload it to any number of services, click a button that says ‘I have permission to use this person’s voice,’ and then you type what you want him to say.”
“Leaving voicemails is particularly effective because it’s not interactive,” Farid said.
The hoax began in mid-June, when the imposter created a Signal account using the display name “Marco.Rubio@state.gov” to contact diplomats and political figures, the cable said. Although it resembled an official email address, the display name was fake.
TOPSHOT – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a joint press conference with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness in Kingston on March 26, 2025. (Photo by NATHAN HOWARD/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The imposter left voicemails on Signal for at least two targets and, in one instance, sent a text inviting further communication on the app, according to the cable. Other State Department personnel were also impersonated via email.
Authorities have not identified the perpetrator, and the State Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
The incident follows a string of AI-enabled impersonation attempts against senior U.S. officials. In May, someone breached White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’s phone and impersonated her in calls and messages to senators, governors and business executives — a case that sparked an FBI investigation.
The Department told the Post it would “conduct a thorough investigation and strengthen safeguards to prevent further incidents.” Officials declined to disclose the contents of the messages or identify the targeted officials in statements to the Post. (RELATED: Inside The New Group Remaking The Trump-Rubio State Department)
The State Department cable reportedly urged employees to report any impersonation attempts to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and directed non-State officials to notify the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
