Your phone rings. It's your CEO—or at least it sounds exactly like them. They're asking you to process an urgent wire transfer for a deal that's closing today. The voice is familiar. The tone is right. The request seems plausible enough.
Except it's not your CEO. It's a recording generated by artificial intelligence, crafted from a few minutes of publicly available audio.
This scenario is no longer hypothetical. AI-powered voice cloning has advanced to the point where generating a convincing imitation of someone's voice requires surprisingly little source material—sometimes as little as a brief clip from a conference presentation, podcast appearance, or social media video.
How Voice Cloning Scams Work
The mechanics behind these scams are straightforward, which is part of what makes them effective:
- Voice harvesting: Attackers collect audio samples of the target's voice. For business owners and executives, these are often readily available from company websites, YouTube videos, LinkedIn posts, or media interviews.
- AI synthesis: Using commercially available or underground AI tools, attackers generate new audio that mimics the target's speech patterns, tone, cadence, and accent.
- Social engineering delivery: The generated voice is used in a phone call—sometimes live, sometimes as a voicemail—to request an urgent action, typically a financial transaction or the sharing of sensitive credentials.
We explored the broader trajectory of this technology in our earlier piece on the rise of deepfakes. What's changed since then is the accessibility and quality of the tools involved.
Why Small Businesses Are Particularly Vulnerable
Large enterprises often have multi-layered approval processes for financial transactions and formal verification protocols. Small businesses typically operate with fewer controls—which is understandable given their size, but it creates exposure.
Several characteristics of small business operations make them attractive targets for voice cloning scams:
- Flat organizational structures: Employees often have direct, informal relationships with owners and executives. A phone call from the boss with an urgent request doesn't feel unusual.
- Speed of operations: Small businesses pride themselves on agility. Requests for quick action don't raise the same red flags they might in a more bureaucratic environment.
- Limited verification procedures: Many SMBs don't have formal processes for confirming the identity of callers or validating financial requests through secondary channels.
- Public-facing leadership: Business owners often serve as their company's public face, providing ample audio material for voice synthesis.
These same characteristics that make small businesses effective and responsive also make them vulnerable—a tension we examined in our piece on why cybercriminals are targeting small businesses.
What These Scams Look Like in Practice
Voice cloning scams targeting businesses tend to follow recognizable patterns, even as the technology behind them becomes more sophisticated:
The Urgent Wire Transfer
The most common scenario involves a call impersonating a senior executive or business owner, requesting an immediate wire transfer. The urgency is always emphasized—there's a deal closing, a penalty to avoid, or a time-sensitive opportunity. The caller typically asks the employee to bypass normal procedures "just this once."
The Vendor Payment Redirect
An attacker impersonates a trusted vendor or supplier, calling to inform you that their banking details have changed. The voice matches someone you've spoken with before. Future payments are then routed to the attacker's account. This variant is particularly effective because it doesn't require immediate action—the fraudulent payment details sit in your system until the next invoice cycle.
The IT Emergency
A call that sounds like your IT provider or internal IT contact, requesting remote access credentials or asking an employee to install software urgently to address a "critical security issue." The irony of a social engineering attack disguised as a security response is not lost on security professionals.
These tactics build on the same social engineering principles that have powered scams for decades. The difference is that AI has eliminated one of the key tells—an unfamiliar voice.
How to Verify Before You Trust
The good news is that defending against voice cloning scams doesn't require advanced technology. It requires process—simple, consistent habits that make verification a normal part of how your team operates.
Establish a Callback Protocol
If you receive a call requesting a financial transaction, credential sharing, or any sensitive action, hang up and call back using a number you already have on file—not a number provided during the suspicious call. This single step defeats the vast majority of voice cloning attempts.
Use a Secondary Verification Channel
Confirm unusual requests through a different communication medium. If you receive a phone call, verify via text message, email, or an in-person conversation. The key is that the verification happens through a channel the attacker doesn't control.
Create a Verbal Code Word
Some businesses have adopted internal code words or phrases that can be used to verify identity during sensitive conversations. This approach is simple, costs nothing, and is surprisingly effective—an AI clone won't know your team's verification phrase.
Implement Dual Authorization for Financial Transactions
No single individual should be able to authorize significant financial transactions based on a phone call alone. Requiring a second person to approve adds a layer of protection that doesn't slow down legitimate operations meaningfully but stops most fraud attempts.
Train Your Team to Pause
The most powerful defense against these scams is cultural: creating an environment where employees feel empowered to pause and verify, even when a request appears to come from the boss. The urgency embedded in these scams is designed to override careful thinking. Training your team that verification is always acceptable—even expected—changes the dynamic.
We covered the broader importance of building this kind of security-aware culture in our article on why the human factor matters in security.
Warning Signs to Watch For
While AI-generated voices are increasingly convincing, there are still contextual clues that something may be off:
- Unusual urgency: Legitimate business requests rarely require bypassing established procedures
- Secrecy requests: "Don't mention this to anyone else until it's done" is a red flag
- New payment details: Any request to change banking information should trigger independent verification
- Emotional pressure: Scammers use stress, flattery, or authority to prevent critical thinking
- Unusual timing: Calls placed outside normal business hours, when fewer people are around to consult
- Resistance to callback: A legitimate caller won't mind if you hang up and call them back on a known number
Reducing Your Voice Exposure
While it's not practical to remove all audio of business leaders from the internet, it's worth being thoughtful about unnecessary exposure:
- Consider whether voicemail greetings need to include an extended personal recording
- Be selective about posting video and audio content on social media
- Review what audio of key personnel is publicly accessible and whether all of it serves a business purpose
This isn't about hiding—it's about being intentional with the raw material that makes voice cloning possible.
What to Do If You Suspect a Voice Cloning Attempt
If you or someone on your team receives a suspicious call:
- Don't act on the request. Pause and verify through an independent channel.
- Document the interaction. Note the phone number, time, what was said, and what was requested.
- Alert your team. If one person at your company was targeted, others may be as well.
- Report it. In Canada, voice scams can be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Having a basic incident response plan in place before something happens makes these steps feel routine rather than reactive.
Looking Ahead
Voice cloning technology will continue to improve. The audio quality will become more natural, the latency in real-time deepfake calls will decrease, and the tools will become more accessible. Waiting for the technology to plateau before taking action isn't a viable strategy.
The businesses that will be best protected are those that build verification into their everyday operations now—not as a response to a specific incident, but as a standard way of doing business. A culture where "let me verify that" is a reflex rather than an afterthought is the most durable defense against a technology that's evolving faster than most people realize.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional security, legal, or compliance advice. Organizations should consult with qualified professionals to assess their specific circumstances and develop appropriate protective measures.