AI doesn’t just offer opportunities for businesses to defend themselves against fraudulent schemes. As adoption among businesses grows, bad actors also have the ability to change up operations and tactics, using AI to sharpen schemes and make scams faster, more convincing and harder to spot.
In addition to creating greater vulnerability for businesses using AI, these technologies also generate additional concerns based on how third-party vendors, partners and associated platforms utilize AI.
Because of this, fraudsters often have more successful outcomes with smaller businesses with less sophisticated prevention and detection processes in place. Proper implementation of a process like dual authorization can prevent internal fraud risk, while tools such as Positive Pay can automatically compare checks to detect and block unauthorized payments that may signal check fraud.
Businesses that do not periodically evaluate their fraud prevention plans to address evolving risks will be at a distinct disadvantage. A comprehensive audit should include a strong and trusted multidiscipline team of advisors going through systems and protocols on an annual basis at a minimum to best protect your business and your customers.
How Fraudsters Are Using AI to Get Sharper
What used to be obvious red flags, like awkward grammar or clunky visuals, can now look seamless and professional with the help of AI. That shift means old fraud cues, such as email spelling errors, aren’t enough to rely on anymore:
- Fraudsters can now clone a person’s voice or face from short clips and use them to stage urgent video calls, impersonating executives, business partners or even loved ones.
- Phishing messages are no longer full of typos; AI-powered tools generate emails, texts and scripts with polished grammar, fluent translations and wording that feels authentic.
- Fake websites, IDs and even entire social media profiles can be created with AI-generated images and text, giving fraudsters a convincing online presence.
- Remote and hybrid work have expanded opportunities for fraud. Employees often log in from home networks and personal devices, giving way to more points of entry and making it easier for AI-generated calls or messages to appear credible.
AI lowers barriers for carrying out fraud, making schemes more convincing and cost-effective. For businesses, this raises the stakes. Strengthening protections means adopting smarter security tools, building awareness among teams and staying ahead of the tricks fraudsters are perfecting.
Making staff aware of current fraud tactics helps mitigate risk, but, undeniably, fraudsters have access to a wide range of enhanced technology tools that can be used to perpetrate fraud in ways that people can’t always identify.
Three Immediate Action Items to Raise Your Team’s Defenses
Some of these measures may already be part of your current security procedures, but reinforcing them and tailoring them to counter AI-driven threats can make the difference between stopping a scam and falling victim to it:
- Require multifactor authentication everywhere, and educate your team to use a verification method like contacting a known phone number to confirm sensitive or unusual requests directly.
- Train your team to challenge unexpected voice or video calls, even if they appear to come from known contacts, and adopt a code word to disrupt voice-cloning scams.
- Run regular simulations of phishing emails or fraudulent calls to uncover gaps in your defenses and see where your team is most vulnerable. Customize your organization’s simulations and other awareness training to different roles, as different members of your team may face different types of fraud attempts.
You may not be able to stop every fraud scheme, especially given how quickly AI tools are evolving. But by tightening verification and training your team regularly to make sure your policies are tested for these enhanced schemes, you can greatly reduce risk and, in the event of an attack, detect and respond swiftly.
In addition to cybersecurity systems and internal processes, businesses of any size operating in any industry can take steps to protect financial assets and accounts. Partner with a bank’s treasury management team to help ensure you have the right safeguards in place to detect other types of fraud.
Brian Crisp is Regional President at Enterprise Bank & Trust. With more than 20 years of banking experience and close ties to the Arizona business community, he oversees all aspects of the bank’s operations in the state, as well as the Albuquerque market, and facilitates the bank’s growth in the region to meet existing and prospective clients’ expanding needs.
