The Risk of AI Fraud for Businesses and Business Owners

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and it's creating numerous opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Unfortunately, it's also enabling scammers and fraudsters to create ever-more devious schemes. Business owners must be vigilant and protect themselves and their businesses from fraud.

Here are some new AI scams to be sure you and your team are aware of.

AI Voice Takeover Scams

One of the most concerning types of AI-related fraud involves scammers capturing real voices that their victims will recognize, and using them for nefarious means.

According to Steven at ID Strong , a scammer will call someone associated with their target, possibly spoofing the phone number to trick the associate into picking up the call. Then, the scammer will stay silent on the call, waiting for the associate to speak so they can capture the voice.

"The malicious actor usually hangs up once the associate gives the scammer enough phonetics," Steven explains.¹ "How many phonetics they obtain correlates directly to how convincing their voice scam becomes. Scammers can use speech synthesis to create conversations and impersonate others, even when the associate never said some of the words they create. Moreover, because voice AI is available in marketplaces online, malicious actors have many ways to achieve their goals. Some voice AI needs just a single word to create convincing fakes while others require a referenceable dialogue from which the AI can pull phonetics."

AI-Infused Phishing

Phishing, which has long been a concern for businesses, is getting help from AI, as well. As Mailgun.com explains, there are tools on the dark web that are basically like ChatGPT for scammers, which help them create more sophisticated phishing emails and campaigns.²

Hopefully your guard (and that of your employees) has been up to protect your business from phishing already. AI-related advancements just make this all the more critical. Problematic messages may be harder to spot and more convincing. Pay close attention to the emails you interact with and make sure your team knows to do the same.

Synthetic Identity Fraud

Another growing threat is synthetic identity, which operates similar to identity theft, except instead of stealing an existing identity, a fake person is created with convincing credentials, which can be used to obtain credit, goods, etc. This is a tough threat to combat, and if you suspect you are dealing with such a scenario, you should alert the authorities.³

Protect Your Business

As threats like these continue to grow and evolve, you must do everything in your power to protect your business. It may be time to consult with security experts if you haven't already. Above all, awareness is critical.

"To counter AI-driven fraud, education and awareness are key," says Entrepreneurs' Organization.⁴ "The elderly need digital literacy programs, while younger generations should be taught skepticism and due diligence in online financial dealings. Businesses play a crucial role by investing in staff training and implementing advanced cybersecurity solutions. This includes AI and machine learning algorithms to detect unusual patterns indicative of scams. Collaboration between companies, cybersecurity experts, and law enforcement is essential in developing effective strategies against fraudulent operations. nSure.ai, for example, focuses on increasing approval rates for legitimate transactions while accurately identifying true fraudsters, reducing false positives in fraud detection."

Stay up to date on the latest tactics by reading up and consuming media related to security and fraud. Know what the threats are, and you can stay better protected. As always, if you suspect fraud on your bank account… Or if you would like to speak with someone about ways to protect your business, you can reach out to our Treasury Management Team at (833) 355-5296.