How to Spot Deepfake and AI Voice Scams Targeting Businesses

A growing number of businesses are reporting scam attempts using AI-generated audio, and in some cases video, to impersonate a CEO or executive requesting an urgent wire transfer or gift card purchase. The technology to convincingly clone a voice from a short public sample — a webinar recording, a podcast appearance — has become cheap and accessible.

The defence against this isn't trying to detect a fake voice by ear, which is becoming increasingly difficult, but process: any unusual or urgent payment request, even one that sounds exactly like your CEO, should be verified through a separate channel before acting, especially if it involves wire transfers, gift cards, or last-minute changes to payment details.

Establishing a simple internal policy now — that financial requests over a certain amount always require verification through a second method — costs nothing and closes off this entire category of fraud.