AI voice or video of your CEO demands an urgent wire transfer — it is a deepfake
Fraudsters clone the CEO's or CFO's voice with AI, then WhatsApp or Skype the finance team demanding an urgent bank wire. Bengaluru and Mumbai companies have lost over ₹2 crore each. 30 seconds of audio is all it takes.
Also known as: deepfake CEO scam, AI voice clone wire fraud, BEC deepfake India, CEO impersonation wire transfer
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
Call 1930 now- 1 Call 1930 — the national cyber-crime helpline — right now. The sooner you report, the better the chance of freezing the money before it moves.
- 2 Call your bank to freeze the account and block the card immediately. Use the number printed on your card, never a number from the message or caller.
- 3 File a report at cybercrime.gov.in and keep every message, screenshot, and transaction ID.
What to do right now
- 1 Never authorize a wire transfer based on a phone call or WhatsApp message alone — call the executive's known direct number to verify
- 2 Establish a shared verbal code word or a two-person rule for any out-of-band payment requests above a threshold
- 3 If a transfer was already made, call your bank's fraud line immediately to initiate a SWIFT/NEFT recall — every minute matters
- 4 Do not delete the call logs, WhatsApp messages, or voice notes — they are evidence
- 5 File a complaint with your local cyber police cell
- 6 Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (national cyber helpline).
Red flags
- ⚠ Call or voice note arrives from an unfamiliar number or a new WhatsApp contact — even if the voice sounds exactly like the CEO
- ⚠ Unusual urgency: 'must be done today, keep it confidential, do not involve anyone else'
- ⚠ Request to bypass standard approval workflows and transfer to an unfamiliar or overseas account
- ⚠ The supposed CEO or CFO is simultaneously reported to be in a meeting, on a flight, or unreachable
- ⚠ Any wire transfer authorization via WhatsApp, personal phone call, or Skype — real directives come through company email or internal systems