One Month After Taking Office, UK Prime Minister Exchanged Texts With Trump Chief of Staff Impersonator

Politico: "Suspicions arose during message exchanges shortly after inauguration"

UK conveys concerns to US... US rebuts, "Unrelated to hacking"

Chief of Staff Wiles had her mobile phone hacked last year

It has been revealed that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged mobile phone messages with an individual impersonating Suzy Wiles, Chief of Staff at the White House.

Andy Burnham, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, inaugurated on July 20 (local time). Photo by Reuters Yonhap News Agency

On August 17 (local time), Yonhap News, citing the European edition of the U.S. political media outlet Politico, reported that "Prime Minister Burnham, who has been in office for one month, was deceived into exchanging messages with someone posing as Chief of Staff Wiles."

According to Politico, which quoted four anonymous officials, Burnham, after his inauguration, began to grow suspicious as he continued exchanging messages with the impersonator. The exact number of exchanges and their specific content have not been disclosed. One source commented, "There was nothing significant" in the conversations. The British Prime Minister's Office stated, "We do not comment on matters of national security."

The British government conveyed its concerns to the White House via its embassy in the U.S. It is reported that there are suspicions that Chief of Staff Wiles's mobile phone may have been hacked. However, the White House told U.S. broadcaster CBS, "This matter is unrelated to any hacking of the Chief of Staff’s device."

Suzy Wiles, Chief of Staff to the U.S. President. Photo by AFP/Getty Images

This is not the first time an incident involving impersonation of Chief of Staff Wiles has occurred. In May of last year, it was revealed that someone impersonating her made phone calls and sent text messages to high-profile individuals, including U.S. senators, governors, and CEOs, prompting an FBI investigation. The impersonator even demanded cash transfers. Chief of Staff Wiles told those around her that her mobile phone contact list had been hacked, with some recipients recalling, "The voice during the call sounded like an AI-generated replica of Wiles."

The number the messages were sent from was different from Wiles’s usual number, and the messages were either overly formal or grammatically awkward. Suspicions were raised when questions were asked about matters Chief of Staff Wiles would have clearly known. One federal lawmaker reported being asked to "compile a list of individuals worthy of a presidential pardon from President Trump." At the time, FBI Director Kashyap Patel issued a strong statement condemning the impersonation attempts, and President Trump stated, "No one can imitate her. There is only one Suzy."

This was not the first time that Chief of Staff Wiles was targeted by a cyberattack. Just before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Iranian-affiliated hackers using the alias "Robert" stole emails from Wiles as well as other aides close to President Trump and distributed them to media outlets. U.S. law enforcement classified these incidents as cyberattacks. While the hackers claimed to have ceased their activities after the election, it was later reported that, following the U.S. airstrike on Iranian nuclear facilities in June of last year, they reached out to the media again, asserting that they had obtained additional emails.

Impersonation targeting senior U.S. government officials has continued. When it was discovered that someone impersonating U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio used AI to mimic his voice and writing style to contact three foreign ministers, a senator, and several governors, the State Department warned embassies and consulates abroad to remain vigilant.

European leaders have also fallen victim to impersonation. Boris Johnson, former UK Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, Italian Prime Minister, and Andrzej Duda, former President of Poland, were all deceived by Russian YouTubers impersonating senior politicians or diplomats. Recordings of their conversations were later released publicly, causing embarrassment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.