By Ben Potaracke, Division President, Locknet Managed IT

A frantic call from a grandchild who needs bail money. A video meeting where your company’s owner asks you to rush a payment. We trust these moments because we recognize the voice or the face. Today, criminals can clone a voice from a short online clip and use it in a live conversation.

Listening for glitches is no longer a reliable defense. What works is a habit. When a request involves money, passwords, or personal information, confirm it through a channel you control before you act.

Why it matters now

In 2025, the FBI tracked AI-related fraud as its own category for the first time, logging 22,364 complaints and nearly $893 million in reported losses. The report names voice clones and convincing videos of loved ones among scammers’ tools. The real total is likely higher, since many victims never realize AI was involved.

How deepfake scams target families 

The most common version is an update to the “grandparent scam.” A caller sounds exactly like a child or grandchild and says they’ve been arrested, hurt, or even kidnapped. The pattern is consistent:

  • A familiar voice in a crisis, often cloned from videos or voicemails posted online.
  • Pressure to act now, with no time to check with anyone.
  • A request for secrecy, so you don’t call someone who could confirm the story.
  • Payment that’s hard to reverse, such as wire transfers, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or cash handed to a courier.

Recognizing the pattern gives you a moment to pause.

How deepfake scams target businesses

For businesses, the target is whoever can move money or grant access. An employee gets a call that sounds like the owner, a manager, or a trusted vendor with a routine-sounding request to pay this invoice today, update a vendor’s bank details, or share a login. Some attacks use video meetings filled with familiar but synthetic faces.

Small and midsize businesses are especially exposed. Approvals are often informal, and a quick call from the boss is a normal part of the day.

Habits that protect your household

These habits work because they don’t depend on spotting a fake.

  • Choose a family code word. Pick a phrase that isn’t posted online and ask for it during any emergency call. A clone won’t know it.
  • Hang up and call back. Use a number you already have saved. If you can’t reach the person, call another relative.
  • Treat urgency as a warning sign. A real emergency can survive a five-minute pause to verify.
  • Question unusual payment requests. Gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, and cash couriers deserve extra scrutiny.
  • Limit what you share publicly. Posted videos and voice recordings give scammers material to clone.
  • Talk with older relatives. Make sure parents and grandparents know voice cloning exists and how it works.

Habits that protect your business

The goal is to make verification routine, so no one feels awkward asking.

  • Verify through a second channel. Confirm any request involving payments, banking changes, or access a different way, such as calling back on a number from your records.
  • Require two people for payments and changes. One convincing call shouldn’t be able to move money on its own.
  • Set a verification phrase known only to the people who approve payments.
  • Write down your process so employees have permission to slow down, even when a request seems to come from the top.
  • Practice with real scenarios in team meetings, so people act confidently on a plan they’ve rehearsed.
  • Make it safe to question. Leaders should say plainly that they want to be verified.

What to do if you think you’ve been targeted

Act quickly, especially if money has already moved.

  1. Contact your bank right away using the number on your card, statement, or official website, not one from the suspicious call or message.
  2. Change any passwords you shared, starting with email and financial accounts, and turn on multi-factor authentication.
  3. Write down what happened, including times, phone numbers, names used, and what was requested.
  4. Report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Businesses should also alert their IT provider.

Even if you didn’t send anything, warn family or coworkers. Scammers often try more than one person.

Verify before you trust

Fakes will keep getting harder to spot by sight or sound, but the best protection doesn’t depend on technology. A code word, a callback, and a willingness to pause will stop most of these scams. As the FBI advises, take a beat. When a request feels urgent, that’s the moment to slow down and confirm it.