Chicago – July 08, 2025
The U.S. State Department has warned diplomats about attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using artificial intelligence. According to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all U.S. embassies and consulates, an impostor pretending to be Rubio tried to contact at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator, and a governor. The scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal, and voicemail, were not identified in the cable.
This is the latest incident of a senior Trump administration figure being targeted by an impersonator, following a similar case in May involving President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. The use of AI to trick people is expected to grow as the technology improves. The FBI warned this spring about “malicious actors” pretending to be U.S. officials in text and voice messages.
The attempts to impersonate Rubio were not successful and were described as “not very sophisticated,” but officials still thought it was important to warn all diplomats and foreign governments. They say this is necessary as foreign efforts to hack information continue to rise.
