Imagine getting a call from your boss asking you to approve a $50,000 payment.
You recognize the voice. The request sounds normal. Maybe the caller even references a project you know about.
Would you approve the payment?
What if that familiar voice wasn’t actually your boss?
Artificial intelligence is making it easier for scammers to impersonate real people. With voice cloning and other AI tools, criminals can create convincing copies of voices, images and videos and use them to make fraudulent requests seem legitimate.
The technology itself has legitimate uses. But when criminals use it for impersonation, a familiar voice or face can no longer be treated as proof that you’re communicating with the real person.
AI Can Make a Scam Sound Legitimate
Scammers don’t necessarily need to create an elaborate fake identity from scratch.
They can use information that is already publicly available—such as photos, videos, voice recordings, job titles, business relationships and other personal details—to build a more convincing impersonation.
AI can also help create messages that:
- Use professional language
- Include correct names and job titles
- Reference real business relationships
- Match the tone of legitimate communications
- Create a sense of urgency
That combination can make a fraudulent request feel much more credible than a traditional scam.
And that’s important because many people have been trained to look for obvious warning signs—poor grammar, strange wording or an unfamiliar voice. AI can make some of those clues much harder to spot.
Common AI Impersonation Scams
AI impersonation can take many forms, and the target isn’t always a business.
Executive Impersonation
An employee might receive a phone call, voicemail or video message that appears to come from the CEO, business owner or manager.
The request could involve:
- An urgent wire transfer
- Paying an invoice
- Changing vendor payment instructions
- Purchasing gift cards
- Making a payroll change
- Sharing confidential employee or customer information
- Providing account credentials or authentication information
The voice may sound exactly right.
But the voice shouldn’t override established payment or security procedures.
Vendor and Business Partner Impersonation
A scammer may impersonate a vendor, customer, contractor or other business partner and request a change to payment information.
For example, you might receive what appears to be a legitimate request to update a vendor’s banking information before the next payment.
Because the request involves a real business relationship, it may not immediately raise suspicion.
That’s why payment and account changes should always be independently verified using contact information already on file—not information provided in the new request.
Family Emergency Scams
AI voice cloning isn’t just a business problem.
A scammer can use a recording of someone’s voice to create a convincing imitation and then call a family member claiming to be in trouble.
They may say they’ve been in an accident, been arrested, ended up in the hospital or lost their phone or wallet. They may urgently need money for medical expenses, bail or another emergency.
The caller may sound exactly like someone you love.
That’s precisely why the safest response is to stop and verify the situation yourself.
Hang up and call the person using a number you already have. You can also contact another family member or trusted person who may be able to confirm what’s happening.
Bank Impersonation
AI can also make financial scams more convincing.
A caller may claim to be from your bank and tell you that fraud has been detected, your account has been compromised or your money needs to be moved to protect it.
They may ask for account information, passwords or authentication codes—or instruct you to transfer money to a supposedly “safe” account.
If you receive an unexpected call about your financial account, end the call and contact your bank directly using a phone number or communication method you already trust.
And remember: Your bank will never need you to move money to a “safe” account because someone unexpectedly told you to.
Other Impersonation Scams
AI-assisted impersonation can also involve people pretending to be government officials, law enforcement officers, attorneys, technology companies, customer service representatives and other authority figures.
The details may change, but the tactic is similar: establish trust, create urgency and convince you to act before you’ve had a chance to verify the request.
Don’t Try to Detect the Deepfake
It can be tempting to listen carefully for something that sounds “off.”
Maybe there’s an unusual pause. Maybe the background noise sounds strange. Maybe the person uses a phrase they don’t normally use.
But trying to determine whether a voice or video is AI-generated isn’t a reliable verification method. You don’t need to become an expert at spotting deepfakes.
Instead, focus on the request.
If someone is asking you to send money, change payment information, provide a password or authentication code, share sensitive information or take an unusual action, verify the request through another channel.
Build Verification Into the Process
For businesses, one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of AI impersonation is to make independent verification part of normal procedures.
That could mean:
- Calling an executive using a number from the company directory.
- Calling a vendor using contact information already on file.
- Requiring established approval procedures for significant payments.
- Independently confirming changes to vendor banking information.
- Using established procedures for payroll or direct-deposit changes.
- Requiring dual approval for significant or unusual transactions.
The important part is that verification happens outside of the communication you’re trying to verify.
If an email says, “Call this number to confirm,” don’t call that number.
If a caller tells you to approve a login, don’t approve it simply because they sound familiar.
If someone sends new payment instructions, don’t use the contact information included in the request to confirm them.
Go back to information you already know is legitimate.
What About Consumers?
The same principle applies at home.
If someone unexpectedly calls asking for money, take a moment before doing anything.
You can:
Hang up and call them back using a number you already have.
Contact another trusted person who can help confirm the situation.
Be suspicious of secrecy. A demand that you not contact anyone else is a warning sign.
Don’t move money to “protect” it.
Never provide passwords, PINs or one-time authentication codes to someone who unexpectedly contacts you.
Families may even want to establish a private verification phrase for unexpected emergency requests. If you do, choose something that isn’t easily discovered through social media or other public information.
Familiar Doesn’t Mean Verified
AI is changing what impersonation scams can look and sound like.
A scammer may be able to make a voice sound like someone you know. They may create a convincing video. They may know the names of people within your organization or understand an existing business relationship.
That doesn’t mean you have to become an expert in AI detection.
It means the old instinct to trust a familiar voice or face needs a second step.
Verify the request—not the voice.
Before sending money, changing account information or sharing sensitive information, independently confirm that the request actually came from the person or organization it appears to come from.
A few extra minutes of verification can be far less costly than acting on a request that was never legitimate in the first place.