Jonáš SvětlíkHow to spot AI scams and deepfakes
The same technology that writes your quotes can imitate your business partner's voice. This is practical defence for a small company, not scaremongering.
What can be faked today
A voice from thirty seconds of recording. A face on a video call. A company email that sounds exactly like your supplier, because the scammer read your correspondence first. None of this is science fiction any more, and none of it is expensive.
Three scams that really do hit small businesses
- A changed account number on an invoice. An invoice arrives from a supplier you know, the amount and the logo check out, only the bank account is different. The most common and the cheapest scam there is.
- An urgent voice message or text from the boss. "I am in a meeting, I need this sent right now, I will sort the paperwork after." The goal is time pressure, not perfection.
- Fake profiles and reviews. Someone sets up a profile in your name or dumps generated reviews on you. For a sole trader that hurts far more than for a corporation.
How to spot it
Do not count on hearing a robot. The giveaways today are not technical, they are situational:
- Pressure on time and on secrecy ("do not tell accounts just yet").
- Payment details that changed since last time.
- A request that goes around the usual process.
- A channel that person never normally uses with you.
Do not buy a deepfake detector yet. They are unreliable, and false certainty is worse than none.
The call-back rule
The one rule that always works: verify through a different channel, on a contact you already have. Got a change of bank details by email? Ring the number already saved in your phone, not the one in the signature. Did your business partner call about an urgent payment? Hang up and call them back yourself.
What to put in place at work
- Above a certain amount (say 20,000 CZK, roughly €800) apply the four-eyes rule: someone else has to sign it off.
- A supplier's change of bank account is always verified by phone.
- An agreed safe word for urgent requests between the two or three of you. It sounds like something out of a film, and it works beautifully.
- Once a quarter, check what is out there about you online.
If it happens to you
The bank first (if you move fast, a payment can sometimes be pulled back), then the police, then tell the other party so it does not hit anyone else. Nothing to be ashamed of - this catches careful people too.
AI did not make scams better. It made them cheap. That is why there are suddenly so many.
Want your business processes to hold up?
I will set up payment verification, alerts on suspicious enquiries and a clear picture of who approves what. Tell me how it works at your place today.