Deepfake Voice Phishing drives losses of over $20 million as crypto executives target

Cybercriminals are reportedly using professional voice-turned-Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to target cryptographic executives through voice phishing or “Vishing.”

The research group found that scammers hire experts to carry out fraudulent calls.

According to the US Federal Trade Commission, Vissing can start with a call or message from someone who pretends to be trustworthy. According to the example cited by the FTC, a scammer may indicate that he or she must purchase an extended warranty on your behalf, that his or her computer is infected, and that he or she needs emergency software, or that he or she is owing money to the government.

In some cases, callers can actually impersonate coworkers or company executives and subtly “quest” their workplace financial system qualifications in the name of an emergency.

“The scammers may claim to represent the IRS, the FBI, and even the collection agency,” the FTC warns in consumer guidance. “They may say you are borrowing money and need to pay it right away or risk a fine or arrest.”

Sometimes, the perpetrator of the vishing bird makes the trick appear “very legitimate” using personal information such as the home address and the last four digits of the Social Security number.

Vising in operation: Losses and counts over $20 million

According to right-handed data from cybersecurity firms, Deepfake-enabled Vissing increased by more than 1,600% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to last year’s fourth quarter. The company mentioned a case in which a European energy conglomerate lost $25 million after criminals cloned the voices of the company’s chief financial officer.

The employee said in his right hand that the fraudulent voice perfectly matched the CFO’s tone and rhythm, and had made an accurate pause and requested a transfer. By the time they realised they weren’t CFOs, and according to security detectives there was no way to reverse the transaction.

Right hand It has been reported Compared to late 2024, Vissing’s attempts at Deepfark in early 2025 increased by 680% year-on-year for Deepfark-related fraud, and median losses for individual victims averaged $1,400, with a recovery cost of about $1.5 million.

70% of the organizations surveyed said they were targeted, and one in four employees failed to detect clone sounds when they applied the scenario test.

Criminal groups are more aggressive in 2025 phishing attempts

In 2025, several organized groups increased their activities, including UNC6040, an Eastern European syndicate known for creating network breach apps as software as a service.

As It has been reported Earlier this year, by Cryptopolitan, operatives from the Lazarus Group, North Korea, set up fake companies during job interviews and used Deep Farkechnology to infiltrate the crypto business. In 2024 alone, attackers linked to Pyongyang stole an estimated $1.34 billion in 47 individual cases in March this year, not to mention the $1.5 billion Bibithack.

Analysts point out that blockchain-based transfers are quick and permanent, unlike traditional bank transfers with airspace that reverses illegal transactions. They believe this has made voice-based fraud effective at sucking up assets before the attack is detected.

Just two weeks ago, Google confirmed that hackers had stolen customer data after violating one of their internal databases linked to Salesforce, a cloud platform for managing business contacts and client interactions.