British Prime Minister Andy Burnham was briefly fooled by an impersonator posing as White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, according to multiple reports on Monday, marking the latest episode in a string of incidents involving fraudsters masquerading as one of US President Donald Trump’s most senior aides.
The UK prime minister exchanged a handful of messages described as being “of no significance” with the impersonator before becoming suspicious that he was not actually corresponding with Wiles, a source briefed on the matter told Politico. It remains unclear what was discussed or precisely when the exchange took place.
Downing Street Stays Tight-Lipped
A Downing Street spokesperson declined to comment on the incident when approached, while an unnamed White House official sought to distance the episode from an earlier hacking scandal involving Wiles, telling Politico that the matter “has nothing to do with the Chief of Staff’s devices being hacked.”
The Forbes report, which first surfaced details of the exchange on Monday, noted that neither the White House nor Number 10 had clarified how the impersonator obtained contact with the prime minister or what platform was used to reach him.
Not the First Wiles Impersonation Attempt
The episode follows a similar scheme uncovered last year in which one or more individuals posed as Wiles to contact Republican lawmakers, business executives and other high-profile figures, using what officials said was an AI-generated replica of her voice in phone calls as well as text messages. The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a probe into that earlier impersonation campaign, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
In some instances, the impersonator solicited money from targets, while in at least one case, a lawmaker was asked to compile a list of individuals whom Trump could consider pardoning, according to the Journal’s reporting at the time. The motive behind the scheme was never publicly established, and authorities have not said whether last year’s campaign is connected to the messages sent to Burnham.
Echoes of 2024 Email Hack
Monday’s revelations also revive memories of a separate breach in 2024, when hackers linked to Iran and operating under the pseudonym “Robert” stole emails belonging to Wiles and other figures close to Trump, including Stormy Daniels and Roger Stone, shortly before that year’s presidential election. Federal law enforcement described the episode at the time as a cyber-attack, and some of the pilfered material, including details of settlement negotiations involving Daniels, was later distributed to journalists.
The hacker resurfaced last year, telling Reuters they had retired, only to make contact again after the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June, claiming to still possess additional stolen correspondence.
Wider Concerns Over AI-Enabled Fraud
The repeated targeting of Wiles’s identity underscores growing unease in Washington and allied capitals over the use of artificial intelligence to impersonate senior officials, particularly as generative voice and messaging tools become more convincing and widely accessible. Neither Downing Street nor the White House has indicated whether an investigation into the Burnham exchange has been launched, and both sides have offered scant detail as the story continues to develop.
