CEO Fraud, Deepfakes and Vishing: Recognising and Preventing AI-Driven Fraud

Be honest: would you recognise the voice of your executive management on the phone? Probably. And that is exactly what fraudsters are increasingly exploiting. Modern attacks no longer look like clumsy phishing emails full of spelling mistakes. They sound convincing, look genuine and, above all, create pressure. 

CEO fraud, vishing and deepfakes are therefore among the scams that companies should take particularly seriously. With the use of artificial intelligence, deception is becoming more realistic, easier to scale and harder for employees to recognise. What once sounded like science fiction is now a real risk in everyday working life. 

To effectively raise employee awareness of these threats, we have redesigned our eLearning course “CEO Fraud, Deepfakes and Vishing”. The course now features a modern design, while the content remains highly relevant and more up to date than ever. 

Understanding CEO Fraud, Vishing and Deepfakes 

CEO fraud refers to fraudulent attempts in which attackers impersonate an executive, member of management or another authorised person. The aim is usually to trigger payments, obtain confidential information or manipulate internal processes. 

Vishing stands for voice phishing and describes fraudulent attempts carried out by telephone or voice message. Criminals deliberately exploit trust, authority and time pressure to push their victims into acting quickly. 

Deepfakes are audio, image or video content generated or manipulated with the help of AI. Voices and faces can be replicated in a deceptively realistic way. This makes it increasingly difficult for employees to distinguish genuine instructions from fake content.

Learning Through Storytelling: When Trust Becomes a Weakness 

The eLearning course uses a practical, story-based approach to show just how realistic modern fraud attempts can appear. At the centre of the story is Cheng, an experienced CFO who is used to clear processes, confidentiality and quick decision-making in his day-to-day work. 

One day, he receives a call that initially seems entirely credible. The voice on the phone sounds familiar, the situation appears urgent and the instruction seems to fit within a sensitive business context. Cheng is asked to approve a payment at short notice, without questions and without delay. 

This is precisely where the attack takes effect: the focus is not on technical weaknesses, but on psychological pressure. The supposed authority of the person calling, the artificially created urgency and the confidential tone are all designed to make Cheng bypass security processes. 

The story makes clear how dangerous the combination of CEO fraud, vishing and AI-generated voices can be. Through this scenario, participants experience why even experienced employees can become unsettled in critical moments, and how important it is to pause, recognise warning signs and verify instructions through reliable channels. 

Why Companies Should Act Now

Fraud attempts are becoming increasingly professional. AI-generated texts, voices and videos make it harder to recognise fakes at first glance. At the same time, attackers rely on familiar patterns: time pressure, authority, confidentiality and the fear of delaying an important instruction. 

Technical safeguards remain important. But on their own, they are not enough. Employees need to know when to be suspicious, which follow-up questions are permitted and why security processes still apply even when an instruction appears to come from executive management. 

What can you expect from the course? Find out here. 

The redesigned eLearning course helps companies build precisely this awareness. 

Conclusion: Raising Awareness of Modern Scams

Information security is not solely the responsibility of the IT department. Especially in the case of CEO fraud, vishing and deepfakes, people are at the centre of the attack. That is why it is important to raise awareness among all employees, regardless of their position, department or technical knowledge. 

With our redesigned eLearning course “CEO Fraud, Deepfakes and Vishing”, you receive a compact and modern training solution to sustainably strengthen security awareness within your organisation. 

Request the course now and strengthen your employees’ awareness of modern cyber threats.