Savi Security launches app to protect consumers from AI voice cloning scams and kidnapper ransom calls

Two brothers with deep roots in cybersecurity and consumer technology have launched a new startup aimed at protecting everyday people from a rising wave of AI-powered scams — including the kind that use cloned voices to fake a kidnapping. Savi Security, founded by Patrick and Ryan Coughlin, officially released its app for iPhone and Android on Tuesday, backed by $7 million in seed funding led by Acrew Capital.

From a family scare to a startup idea

The company’s origin story is personal. About two years ago, Patrick Coughlin’s mother received a call that appeared to come from her daughter’s phone number. A man on the line claimed he had kidnapped her daughter and demanded $1,200. The mother heard what sounded like her daughter’s voice saying, “Mom, they’ve got me,” followed by a scream. The scammer even referenced the local Walmart her daughter frequented. Fortunately, the mother called her daughter directly and learned she was safe. The entire incident was an AI-generated hoax.

Patrick Coughlin, who previously worked in national cyber defense, at Splunk, and as senior vice president of security products at Cisco, was shaken by how easily the scam exploited consumer-grade AI tools. “What has fundamentally changed in the underlying cybercriminal economy that we are now able to leverage the same kind of sophistication I had seen pointed at government agencies and Fortune 500 companies — and now deploy it at the consumer?” he said.

The AI-powered scam economy

Cheap and powerful large language models (LLMs) and generative AI have dramatically lowered the cost and complexity of running personalized scams. Voice cloning now requires only three seconds of audio, easily extracted from public social media posts. Before AI, such targeted attacks were not financially viable for consumer-level fraud. Today, the economics have flipped.

The Federal Trade Commission reported last month that people collectively lost $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, triple the amount in 2020. While older Americans are most frequently targeted, research from Malwarebytes in 2025 found that Gen Z is also highly susceptible, particularly to text scams, falling for them about 25% of the time.

Real-time detection as a defense

The Coughlin brothers built Savi Security around a real-time intervention model. Before launching the app, they tested their detection system with a free, anonymous website called Scam Wise, where users could upload suspicious texts, photos, or emails for analysis. In four months, the site received over 50,000 submissions, providing a rich dataset to train Savi’s AI model. The startup currently uses Google’s Gemini as its primary AI engine but has built a flexible gateway that can tap other models, including those specialized in voice detection.

The paid Savi app screens texts, voicemails, and incoming calls for scam indicators. Its most distinctive feature is live call monitoring: during a suspicious phone conversation, a user can activate the app’s agent to listen in and analyze behavioral tells in real time.

Pricing and family coverage

Savi charges $8 per month, or $63 per year, with no limit on the number of users under one plan. This allows a single account holder to cover a spouse, children, parents, and extended family members, providing administrative oversight for those who may be less tech-savvy.

“AI has changed how accessible being a fraudster is,” Coughlin said. “We’re creating fraudsters because we’re bringing down the barrier of deceiving people. Not only do we have organized criminals and syndicates, but everyday people are being tempted into playing fraud.”

Conclusion

Savi Security represents a new generation of consumer protection software that uses AI to fight AI-powered scams in real time. As voice cloning and personalized fraud become more common and convincing, tools that offer live monitoring and family-wide coverage may become increasingly essential. The startup’s $7 million seed round and growing dataset from Scam Wise suggest strong early validation for its approach.

FAQs

Q1: How does Savi Security detect AI voice scams in real time?
The app allows users to activate a live monitoring agent during a phone call. The agent analyzes speech patterns, behavioral cues, and contextual indicators to identify potential scam tactics while the conversation is still happening.

Q2: Who is most at risk from AI-powered voice cloning scams?
While older adults are frequently targeted, Gen Z users are also highly susceptible, especially to text-based scams. Anyone with publicly available audio clips on social media is potentially vulnerable to voice cloning.

Q3: What makes Savi different from existing scam-blocking tools?
Unlike many products that only screen messages or block known scam numbers, Savi offers live call monitoring and family-wide coverage under a single subscription, with no cap on the number of users.