• The Perfect Storm for Fraud

Year-end financial pressure and holiday urgency create fertile ground for AI-enhanced social engineering. Attackers now use deepfake video calls, voice cloning, and synthetic personas to authorize fraudulent transactions—bypassing traditional verification. [cnbc.com]

• Key Attack Vectors

• Deepfake CFO approvals for urgent wire transfers.
• AI-generated invoices with authentic branding.
• Real-time voice impersonation during payment confirmation calls. [cnbc.com]

• Defense Strategies

• Implement multi-factor verification for high-value transactions.
• Deploy deepfake detection tools and train finance teams on red flags.
• Enforce out-of-band confirmation protocols for urgent payment requests. [cnbc.com]