Is That Really Your Boss on the Line?

Dave M
May 4
2 min read

Updated: May 7

Deepfake Phone Scams Explained in Five Minutes

“I was staring at my CEO on Zoom—or so I thought—when she told me to wire €2.7 million. The voice, the mannerisms, the urgency … was all AI.”

Large‑scale “audio‑visual impersonation” fraud, once the stuff of spy novels, is suddenly affordable to any cyber‑criminal with a laptop. In 2024 a single Hong Kong employee transferred HK $200 million (≈ US $25 million) after an entire video call— faces and voices—turned out to be synthetic clones of her senior leadership team. The Guardian Business Insider

1. What makes deepfakes so convincing?

Ultra‑low cost – off‑the‑shelf voice models need just 30 seconds of audio.
Contextual detail scraped from LinkedIn and press releases bolsters credibility.
Multichannel delivery (video, phone, chat) overwhelms human intuition. Law‑enforcement bulletins warn that fraudsters now automate thousands of calls a day, targeting finance, HR, and AP staff. IC3 Federal Bureau of Investigation

2. The four‑step playbook attackers use

Recon – harvest executives’ voices from webinars or YouTube.
Clone – train speech & face models in minutes.
Stage – schedule a “quick, urgent” call about a confidential deal.
Cash out – demand a same‑day wire; move funds through mule accounts within hours.

3. Spot‑the‑fake checklist for busy teams

Real‑time sanity check	Why it works
Call‑back channel: hang up and dial a known number.	AI can’t answer a corporate switchboard.
Latency clue: ask a fast, personal question.	Most generators add a 1‑2 sec lag.
Pronunciation trap: use an inside acronym.	Models stumble on niche jargon.
“Safe‑word” protocol: pre‑shared phrase between C‑suite & finance.	Simple, memorable, and beats deepfakes. CBS News

4. Controls you can implement this quarter

Out‑of‑band approval for all payments > $10k.
Voice‑biometrics “liveness” plug‑in for call centers.
Executive video hygiene: publish only clipped highlights, not entire speeches.
Employee micro‑training: 3‑minute teaser video plus phishing simulation.

Key takeaway

Deepfake fraud thrives on speed and surprise. Slow the process down, add one independent verification step, and the scam collapses.

Ready to stress‑test your payment workflow against AI impersonation?

Book a 30‑minute Deepfake Drill with Safe‑Tea’s incident‑response team.