Rubio impostor used AI to contact governor, Congress member, foreign ministers

An impostor reportedly used artificial intelligence to pretend to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio and contact a governor, Congress member and foreign ministers.

According to a senior U.S. official and a State Department cable obtained by The Washington Post, the impostor sent voice and text messages that mimicked Rubio’s voice and writing style using AI-powered software.

Federal authorities do not know who the impostor is but believe that they are likely attempting to manipulate government officials “with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts,” according to a cable sent by Rubio’s office to State employees.

In addition to text messages, the impostor used encrypted messaging app Signal to contact “at least five non-Department individuals, including three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a U.S. member of Congress,” according to the July 3 cable.

The officials were contacted by the impostor in mid-June with a Signal account using the display name “Marco.Rubio@state.gov.” The display name is not Rubio's real email address.

“The actor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and in one instance sent a text message inviting the individual to communicate on" the app, reads the cable, which also states other State Department personnel were impersonated using email.

The cable urged U.S. diplomats to report “any impersonation attempts” to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which is investigating the incident, and for non-State Department officials to notify the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The State Department told the Post regarding the cable that it would “carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future.” Department officials declined to discuss the messages' contents or the names of the diplomats and officials who were targeted.