Just a few years ago, fraud prevention meant identifying fake checks and flagging suspicious credit card activity. But today, fraud attempts are harder to detect and carry far greater financial risk — especially with the rise of deepfake technology.
Since artificial intelligence became widely available in 2019, businesses face a new threat landscape: deepfake financial fraud. Deepfakes use audio or video to impersonate someone’s likeness — voice, face, or mannerisms — to manipulate people and trigger payments. That can include deepfakes of your CFO, board members, vendors, or even clients.
These aren’t hypothetical risks. Deloitte estimates that generative AI could lead to $40 billion in fraud losses by 2027, up from just $12.3 billion in 2023. That steep curve shows how quickly deepfake-enabled fraud is scaling — and why finance leaders must act now.
How are deepfakes created?
Threat actors use AI platforms and deep learning tools to mimic people’s appearance or voice. With only a short audio or video clip, they can build a real-time impersonation that’s difficult to distinguish from reality.
What started with celebrity content has evolved into high-stakes fraud. For example, a scammer could deepfake your CFO instructing a direct report to urgently process a vendor payment. Without proper verification controls, that video could trigger a major loss.
Why deepfake cybercrime is getting easier
- Low barriers to entry: anyone can create deepfakes using free or cheap tools
- Fraud-as-a-Service: criminals can pay for guidance or assets, no skills needed
- People are the weak link: busy teams are vulnerable to urgent, realistic requests
- Low risk, high reward: if it fails, nothing happens. If it works, they get paid
- It bypasses standard protections: email filters and firewalls can’t catch human deception
Common deepfake fraud tactics
Social engineering
These scams exploit trust. In one real case, the CEO of a UK energy firm received a call from someone who sounded just like his boss. The caller requested a $243,000 supplier payment. Only after a second, suspicious call did the CEO realise he’d been duped — but the money was already gone. The energy firm case shows how convincingly deepfakes can impersonate trusted leaders.
BEC scams
Business email compromise is evolving. Deepfakes now show up in videos, audios, or AI-generated emails, posing as CEOs or CFOs. If an accounts team member receives what appears to be a legitimate vendor request, they may follow through — especially if it looks urgent and accurate.
False endorsements
Deepfake videos of public figures have been used to spread fake investment tips or damaging remarks. If a fabricated video shows a CEO behaving inappropriately, it can trigger reputational damage and lost revenue — even if it’s not real.
Why finance teams are at risk
Scammers target finance because that’s where the money is. With B2B payments, the risk increases with the number of people involved in approvals — and the urgency around processing vendor payments.
For instance, a scammer may pose as a known vendor and request urgent changes to payment details. They might send a deepfake video, invoice, and contract. If the change is approved without extra validation, the funds are gone.
Vendor onboarding controls and real-time validation help stop these scams before they escalate.
The IT and finance security gap
Traditionally, cybersecurity was an IT responsibility. But deepfake fraud doesn’t always trigger technical red flags — it targets people. That means finance teams must collaborate more closely with IT to prevent losses.
- Finance teams aren’t trained in cybercrime prevention
- IT teams don’t always understand payment workflows
- Both must stay up to date on evolving scam tactics
Effective collaboration means building fast-response workflows, clear accountability, and mutual understanding. Otherwise, fraud risks will continue slipping through the cracks.
Awareness isn’t enough. Defenses must evolve
It’s not enough to understand that deepfake videos are up by 550 percent year over year. It’s not enough to know that finance teams are a popular target for deepfake cybercrime.
In order for businesses to address the multi-layered risks associated with AI-generated deepfakes, they need a multi-pronged strategy to stop these attacks before they cause damage.
When finance leaders collaborate with technology leaders, that strategy can take shape. Just like business doesn’t happen in a vacuum, deepfake cybercrime doesn’t either.
Just like business doesn’t happen in a vacuum, deepfake cybercrime doesn’t either — explore our guide to defending against deepfake-enabled cybercrime.
