One of the biggest growing threats we have been exploring is the distraction card machine scam. This piece of fraud involves scammers distracting shop merchants, whilst an accomplice seizes the card machine and authorises a refund to their own bank cards before returning the machine to the shop counter; it is only later that businesses are realising that they’ve fallen victim to this crime.
DeepFake voice generation software presents a new frontier for fraudsters
Voice DeepFake being used to scam businesses out of thousands
With Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology evolving rapidly, we’re seeing it put to both good and bad use – sometimes leading to crime and in particular, fraud.
A recent case which has caught our attention involves a group of criminals utilising AI voice mimicking software to impersonate a chief executive from the German parent company of a UK-based energy provider. Using this software, fraudsters successfully contacted the UK company’s CEO and requested a €220,000 transfer to a Hungarian supplier. Once this had been transferred, the UK CEO was contacted again, confirming the money was set to be reimbursed immediately; it was only after receiving a third call from Austria that the CEO began to suspect foul-play.
Upon being received by an account in Hungary, the funds were subsequently moved to Mexico and other locations – with authorities unable yet to identify any suspects. It is clear that this scam was intricately planned,with an intimate knowledge of the company’s structure. As such, the fraudsters were able to extract a sizeable sum before being detected.
Always be wary if a phone call sounds suspicious, especially if the caller is asking for private information or for a financial transaction to be made.
In recent years, we’ve seen AI used as a tool to both identify and prevent fraud, but it seems that now the tide is turning – with AI mimicry being used to fool our eyes (in the form of deep fakes) and now our ears. This increase in AI fraud has been noted by authorities and leading experts who have identified AI as the ‘new frontier for fraud’. Pindrop, a company specialising in security software for call centres, noted a 350% rise in voice fraud from 2013 – 2017, further indicating the increasing popularity of this scam.
Don’t believe everything you hear…
By impersonating someone’s voice over the phone, fraudsters are able to access private information which can then be used for criminal purposes and private gain. This presents a particular threat to businesses,especially large companies which have more capital on hand. With a number of convincing commercial voice-generating tools now available to the public, it’s highly likely we will continue to see a rise in voice recognition fraud.For more information about our Cyber Insurance or cyber crime protection please contact us on 01744 886077
Source: NMU