The resident, who requested anonymity, described the experience as ‘very freaky after’ he spoke to himself over his cellphone.

He received the call on Thursday, and while the number was not his own, the True Caller app showed that they had the exact same name and surname.

The strangest part is that when he answered the call, the caller’s voice sounded exactly like his own.

“I couldn’t tell you how or why it happened, maybe it’s a glitch in the matrix. Of course, I am sure that many people out there share names and surnames, but it certainly is very weird to get a call from one of them.

It was just freaky.”

The freaky call, however, did not last long, and the caller was quick to conclude that he had dialled the wrong number.

After telling his wife about the call, she was quick to consider the possibility that it was AI (artificial intelligence).
He is confident, though, that he spoke to a human and not a bot.

“We’ve all heard stories of AI being used to mimic the voice of a loved one, who calls you in distress, looking for help or asking for you to transfer money, and so my natural reaction was to think that this was a similar case.

Perhaps the caller terminated the call after realising that he was speaking to the very person he was impersonating?”

His wife wished to warn other residents of these types of calls that lure in family members, believing someone is in distress.

Or could it be a case of identity theft?

In this instance, the couple will never know.

Lately there’s also been an outcry from performers and artists to regulate AI, after their voices and work have been copied.

• The illustration set as feature image for this article was generated by the Middelburg Observer using AI with the intention of showing how easy it is to misuse artificial intelligence tools for fabrication.

A highly distorted photo of the resident was used with his approval, to protect his identity.