Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed industries by streamlining processes and improving decision-making. However, it has also created new avenues for criminals to exploit. These rely on AI tools to automate phishing attacks, manipulate financial data or create false identities, making it easier to deceive individuals and businesses on a massive scale. Understanding deepfake fraud, how it works and preventive measures can help your company avoid significant financial and reputational damage.
This article contains:
Key insights
- AI facilitates fraud through deepfakes and automated phishing.
- Deepfake fraud impersonates individuals via AI-generated media for malicious purposes.
- Preventive measures and insurance can limit financial losses.
What is deepfake fraud?
Deepfake fraud is a form of scam that uses artificial intelligence to create convincing fake media, such as videos, images or sound recordings. This technology allows fraudsters to accurately mimic a person's appearance, voice or behaviour. This allows them to impersonate a real individual, such as a CEO or other executive, to achieve malicious goals. Examples include tricking employees into transferring money to fraudulent accounts or obtaining sensitive company information.
With increasingly realistic deepfakes, it is becoming more difficult to distinguish genuine communication from fake, posing significant risks. It is therefore important to stay alert and take preventive measures to protect your business from this form of fraud.
How does deepfake fraud work?
Deepfake fraud often follows a multi-stage process:
- Research: Criminals gather information about the company's hierarchy, often from publicly available information on social media or company websites.
- Creating fake content: Criminals use AI to generate realistic video or audio recordings of a target (e.g. a company CEO).
- Identity theft: The fraudster uses deepfake to impersonate the target, making it appear as if the real person is making requests or giving instructions.
- A fraudulent request: Deepfake content is used to trick employees, partners or customers into complying with fraudulent requests, such as transferring money, providing sensitive information or authorizing actions.
- Execution: The employees, believing the request to be from a trusted executive, comply with the instructions before realizing it is a scam.
Example: The CFO receives a call from what appears to be the CEO, urging him to transfer a large sum of money to a fraudulent account. The CFO, believing the voice to be genuine, complies, but later realizes the call was fraudulent.
How to avoid deepfake fraud?
To avoid deepfake fraud, there are preventive measures you can take:
Protect your company against deepfake fraud
AI and deepfake fraud represent the most dangerous threats to business in the digital age. From CEO identity theft to AI-based phishing attacks, fraudsters are becoming increasingly creative and sophisticated. Preventive measures can reduce the risk of fraud, but you will never be able to avoid them all. A fraud insurance can provide essential protection against the financial repercussions of deepfake fraud.
Whether fraud is committed from inside or outside your company, the financial losses have a major impact on your business. With our fraud insurance, you can protect your business against financial loss due to both internal and external fraud. Our insurance covers not only financial loss, but also damage to systems and reputation. Moreover, you can count on expert advice to help you avoid fraud.
Do you want to know more about our fraud insurance? Contact our team. Our experts will be glad to help you.
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