The Rising Cost of Deepfakes.

In today’s AI-driven threat landscape, deepfake videos and audio are targeting the C-suite.
Senior executives and decision-makers must be aware of this sophisticated and costly threat.
In 2024, a global engineering firm, Arup, infamously found out just how costly deepfake scams can be.
The incident involved a cybercriminal gang impersonating a senior executive. Fooling an unsuspecting employee into authorizing multiple financial transfers totaling approximately $25 million.
The advanced technology was so realistic that the victim did not suspect any irregularities during the virtual meeting.
Hong Kong police described the incident as one of the most complex cases of its kind, highlighting the growing threat posed by AI technologies.

 

 

A Growing Threat

Today, a big worry for senior executives and decision makers is that these attacks are becoming more sophisticated and common.
Where traditional phishing attacks cast a wide net to get access to an organization’s data.
Today, cybercriminals use next-gen AI technologies to go straight to the source.
Deepfake attacks can bypass many security systems, internal procedures, and protocols.
When your boss tells you to transfer money urgently on a call, you tend to do so. Especially in today’s fast-paced environment. This plays right into the hands of cybercriminals who use these demands to their advantage. Often employing multiple attack vectors to build trust before launching their attack

 

 

The Three Key Attack Vectors

Cybercriminals have taken phishing scams to new levels, making them harder to spot than ever before.
The most effective attacks use three key vectors:

• Vishing (voice phishing) uses synthetic audio to simulate urgent calls from leadership.
• Cloned social media accounts make public statements or initiate private messages that bypass corporate safeguards.
• Deepfake avatars are used in online meetings to mimic executives in real time, adding visual credibility to fraudulent directives.

When used individually, each of these tactics can be convincing. But when combined, they paint a dangerously believable picture.
A voice call from the “CEO,” a follow-up email from a cloned account, and even a brief appearance in a video call can be enough to bypass suspicion entirely.
These attacks work because they mimic normal executive behavior with disturbing accuracy.
They exploit trust, authority, and speed.

 

 

When Familiar Faces Become Cyber Threats

At the heart of every successful deepfake scam lies human psychology, our natural tendencies, biases, and trust mechanisms.
When we see a familiar face or hear a trusted voice, we feel secure, and lower our defenses.
Deepfakes hijack this trust.
In today’s corporate environment, cognitive overload also plays a big part. Employees juggle numerous tasks and communications daily.
This overload reduces the mental resources available for careful verification, making it easier for deepfake scams to slip through unnoticed.
Ultimately, deepfake scams expose cybersecurity’s main weakness: humans.
Technology can simulate reality, but human trust and behavioral patterns enable these deceptions to succeed.

 

 

How To Spot a Deepfake

But all hope is not lost.
Although spotting these sophisticated attacks is difficult and overriding our instincts can be even more so.
We are here to help businesses raise cyber awareness and fight back.
These quick tips will help employees defend against deepfakes.

1. Verify Unexpected Requests — Especially around money or access
2. Watch for Odd Timing or Urgency – Time pressure could be a red flag
3. Double-Check Contact Info – Hover over email addresses to check they are legitimate.
4. Look for Subtle Inconsistencies in video calls – Unnatural movements, audio delay, or even a lack of pauses when speaking.

Despite the increasing sophistication of deep-fake technology, the responsibility to detect and stop these attacks still lies with people.
Organizations must proactively strengthen awareness, provide targeted training, and cultivate a culture that encourages verification and critical thinking.
The real danger often lies not in the technology itself, but in the assumptions made about it.

This article was written by Cywareness, a company specializing in cybersecurity awareness.
As part of its mission, Cywareness continues to monitor emerging trends, analyze real-world attacks, and share practical insights to help organizations stay ahead in today’s evolving threat landscape.