- \n
- Criminals scrape short clips of a leader\u2019s voice from social media, webinars, or podcasts.<\/li>\n
- AI tools clone that voice in minutes.<\/li>\n
- They call, text, or drop a voicemail: \u201cI\u2019m in a meeting. Urgent payment needed. Don\u2019t loop in finance.\u201d<\/li>\n
- The goal? Rush an employee into sending money, gift cards, or sensitive data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Why this is exploding now<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Voice cloning apps are cheap and easy to use.<\/li>\n
- Remote and hybrid work means more approvals happen over phone and chat.<\/li>\n
- SMBs often lack strict verification steps, making them prime targets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Real-world tactics we\u2019re seeing in Central Ohio<\/h2>\n
- \n
- \u201cVendor change\u201d scams: A fake CEO approves switching a vendor\u2019s bank account. Next invoice? Paid to the crook.<\/li>\n
- \u201cEmergency purchase\u201d calls: Gift cards or crypto \u201cto secure a deal.\u201d<\/li>\n
- \u201cPrivate M&A\u201d messages: Pressure to keep it secret, pushing staff to skip normal checks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Red flags your team should memorize<\/h2>\n
- \n
- \u201cDon\u2019t tell anyone\u201d or \u201cHandle this quietly.\u201d<\/li>\n
- New payment instructions or bank accounts out of the blue.<\/li>\n
- Rush language: \u201cWe\u2019ll miss the deadline\u201d, \u201cThis is on you\u201d, or \u201cI need this in 10 minutes.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Requests that move to personal phone, WhatsApp, or Telegram.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/cmitsolutions.com\/columbus-oh-1051\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2026\/02\/A-10-Minute-Defense-Plan-for-SMBs-240x300.png\")
<\/p>\nWhat to do if you get hit<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Freeze the transfer immediately; call your bank\u2019s fraud team.<\/li>\n
- Report to the FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) within 24 hours\u2014speed matters.<\/li>\n
- Notify your insurer and legal counsel.<\/li>\n
- Preserve voicemails, call logs, emails, and chat screenshots.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Make it local: Columbus playbook<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Brief your teams in finance, ops, and front desk.<\/li>\n
- Coordinate with your bank\u2019s local fraud contact.<\/li>\n
- Check in with the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio and the Columbus Chamber for current scam alerts.<\/li>\n
- Review Ohio data and wire fraud reporting steps from the Ohio Attorney General\u2019s office.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can help right now<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Security awareness training tailored to voice and deepfake scams.<\/li>\n
- Email\/domain protection and payment workflow hardening.<\/li>\n
- MFA and conditional access for accounting tools.<\/li>\n
- Incident response runbooks that meet it compliance requirements.<\/li>\n
- 24\/7 monitoring from a managed service provider that understands cybersecurity for small business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Bottom line<\/strong>: Voice cloning makes old scams terrifyingly convincing, but simple verification beats even the best fake. Build a culture where \u201cstop and check\u201d is encouraged and celebrated.<\/p>\n
Need help hardening your process? Our Columbus team delivers practical IT services for SMBs, from policy setup to hands-on tools and training. If you want a fast assessment of your payment and approval workflows, we\u2019re here. This is cybersecurity for smbs done right; local, accountable, and built for Central Ohio. Contact us<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If your CEO calls asking you to wire money fast, pause. Scammers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1012,"featured_media":872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-it"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t