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Do not send the money until you verify the request through a channel you already trust. Call the executive or vendor on a directory number or previously confirmed mobile number, or confirm in person or through an established internal collaboration channel. Read back the beneficiary, account number, amount, currency, purpose and deadline, then obtain the normal second approval. Never use a phone number, link, attachment or reply address supplied only by the suspicious message.
AI-generated text, cloned voices and synthetic video can sound and look convincing. A real executive mailbox may also have been compromised, while a lookalike domain can make a new account appear legitimate. That is why process controlsindependent verification and dual approvalare more dependable than trying to detect artificial wording or video by eye.
Why an executive payment message can be genuine-looking and still be fraud
Business-email compromise (BEC) is a payment scam in which criminals use either a real account they have taken over or an address that closely resembles a trusted one. The request may arrive in an ordinary email thread, making the sender name, signature and previous messages appear authentic. A changed invoice, bank account or payment procedure is often the point at which the attacker diverts a legitimate transaction.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsGenerative AI expands the same attack across more channels. Criminals can produce fluent, context-aware emails, text messages and chat replies, then use voice cloning or synthetic video to imitate a senior person. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) warned in 2024 that generative-AI social engineering had been used to impersonate executives and induce transfers to accounts controlled by criminals. The FBI’s May 15, 2025 alert likewise describes AI-generated voice and text impersonation of senior officials.
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There is no dependable universal statistic for how often a person can identify an AI-generated executive message, and no detector can prove that a particular payment request is authentic. A polished sentence, familiar voice or realistic video is not evidence of authorization. Treat identity and payment approval as separate questions and verify both.
The five-minute response when a message asks for money
- Pause the transaction. Do not reply, click a link, open an attachment, download a file, call a number in the message or move the conversation to another app. Tell the requester that your payment-control process requires independent confirmation; do not let urgency override that process.
- Preserve the message. Keep the original email or chat, including headers where available. Do not forward it in a way that strips metadata. Note the time received, the channel, the sender’s displayed name, the complete address, the reply-to address, the requested payment and any deadline.
- Inspect without interacting. View the full sender address, domain, reply-to field, link destinations and attachment names. Look for a one-character domain change, a shortened or mismatched URL, an unexpected file type, a new phone number or a request to continue in an encrypted messaging app. Do not use those supplied details to verify the request.
- Use an independent route. Call the executive or vendor from your corporate directory, a number printed in an established contract, a previously confirmed mobile contact or an in-person conversation. You can also use a known internal collaboration channel that was not introduced by the suspicious message.
- Read back every payment detail. Confirm the beneficiary’s legal name, bank name, account number, routing or sort details, amount, currency, purpose, invoice and deadline. A change to any bank detail or payment procedure is a new request and needs fresh confirmation, even if the rest of the conversation is familiar.
- Apply dual control. Obtain the second approver required by company policy. Record who confirmed the request, which independent channel was used, what details were read back and when approval occurred.
- Escalate uncertainty. If the person cannot be reached through a trusted route, the details conflict, or anyone pressures you to bypass policy, stop. Escalate to finance leadership, treasury or security and do not release the payment.
How to inspect the message without trusting it
Check the complete identity, not the display name
Open the sender details and compare the full address with a known address, not merely the name shown in the inbox. Lookalike domains may substitute a similar character, add a word or use a different top-level domain. A message from the correct domain is not automatically safe: the FBI notes that BEC can operate through a compromised legitimate account.
Examine reply-to, links and attachments
A reply-to address that differs from the sender, a link whose visible text does not match its destination, or an attachment that was not expected are reasons to stop. A shortened URL conceals the destination. An invoice or spreadsheet can contain malware or simply provide a convincing pretext for a fraudulent account. If you need the document, obtain it through the normal document system rather than opening the copy in the message.
Compare the request with the conversation history
Attackers may enter an existing thread after compromising an account, so a familiar subject line and signature prove little. Look for a sudden change in tone, a new phone number, a demand for secrecy, a request to move from email to a different app, or an instruction to skip the usual purchase order and approval path. Check whether the proposed deadline and amount fit the contract, budget and payment calendar.
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Independent verification that survives a compromised mailbox
Independence means the verification channel was established before the suspicious request and is not controlled by the message sender. A callback to a number copied from the email is not independent; a reply in the same thread is not independent; and a video call initiated through a link in the message is not independent.
Preferred verification routes
- Call a number in the company directory or an existing contract, or use a mobile number you confirmed before the incident.
- Ask the executive in person when practical, especially for a high-value or unusual transfer.
- Use a known internal collaboration channel already used with that person, rather than a new account or invitation in the message.
- For a vendor, contact the account manager through the vendor record in your procurement system and verify any bank change with a second known contact.
Do not read a one-time password, MFA code or recovery code to the caller. An executive or help-desk impersonator who asks for such a code is trying to defeat account security, not complete a legitimate payment.
Confirm the beneficiary and the business purpose
Identity confirmation alone is insufficient. A real executive might have sent a request that was altered later, or an employee’s account might be used to approve a different account number. Read the details aloud or send them through the trusted channel and ask the confirmer to state them back.
| Detail to confirm | What to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficiary | What is the exact legal name of the recipient? | A personal or unrelated third-party name can reveal diversion. |
| Bank and account | Which bank, account number and routing or sort details should be used? | A changed account is a new instruction, even in a familiar thread. |
| Amount and currency | What exact amount and currency are authorized? | Decimal, currency and fee changes can materially alter the payment. |
| Purpose and invoice | Which contract, purchase order or invoice supports it? | It tests whether the payment fits a real business obligation. |
| Deadline | Why is this due now, and what happens if normal approval takes its course? | Artificial urgency is a common pressure tactic. |
Never treat a changed beneficiary, bank account, invoice or payment procedure as a minor edit. Re-run the complete verification and obtain the second approver, even if a colleague says the change was discussed earlier.
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Red flags that should stop a payment
- Urgency, secrecy, pressure to bypass policy or a threat of consequences for waiting.
- A new phone number, new messaging account or request to switch from email to an encrypted app.
- Instructions to use a wire transfer, cryptocurrency, gift card or unusual third-party payment route for an unexpected request. The Federal Trade Commission advises not to pay when a scammer demands these methods.
- A changed beneficiary, bank account, invoice, purchase order or payment procedure.
- A lookalike address, shortened or mismatched URL, unexpected attachment or request for credentials or MFA codes.
- A message that is unusually perfect, or a voice or video that feels familiar but cannot be confirmed independently. The FBI cautions that AI-generated content can be difficult to identify.
One red flag may have an innocent explanation; several together require a stop and escalation. The absence of obvious errors is not a green light.
Why visual or linguistic AI detection is not a payment control
People often look for robotic phrasing, odd pauses, lip-sync errors or unusual camera quality. Those clues can be useful for suspicion, but they cannot establish authenticity. Models can produce natural grammar and conversational context, and a criminal can combine synthetic media with real information stolen from an email account. Conversely, a genuine person may have a poor connection, a rushed writing style or a different camera, creating false alarms.
The FBI’s May 15, 2025 guidance says that a message claiming to be from a senior U.S. official should not be assumed authentic and recommends researching the originating number, independently calling a verified number, checking addresses and URLs, and refusing unverified money requests. IC3 similarly advises preserving how contact began, what payment was requested and what information was shared because AI-assisted impersonation can make the initial interaction look ordinary.
Use technology to reduce the opportunities for abuse, but keep the payment decision procedural. MFA helps prevent account takeover, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC help receiving systems authenticate mail claiming to come from your domain. None of those controls proves that a particular person authorized a particular transfer; independent callback and dual approval do.
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Controls an organization can put in place
Publish a written payment-verification policy
State that every new beneficiary and every change to bank details requires an out-of-band callback. Specify the approved directory, the people allowed to confirm details, the second-approver threshold and the records that must be retained. Define an emergency path that is faster than ordinary processing but still requires two people and an independent channel.
Make dual approval meaningful
The second approver should review the beneficiary, account, amount, purpose and supporting invoice independently, not simply click the same approval link. Separate the person who creates or changes a payee from the person who releases funds. Keep an audit record that shows the identity of both approvers and the verification route.
Protect accounts and domains
- Require multi-factor authentication for email, finance, collaboration and remote-access accounts.
- Never ask staff to disclose one-time codes. A FIDO2 hardware security key can be offered as an optional phishing-resistant MFA method, but it is not an authenticity detector for messages.
- Configure SPF, DKIM and DMARC for company domains and monitor failures. These reduce domain and account abuse but do not replace payment verification.
- Maintain a directory of trusted phone numbers and collaboration identities outside the email system.
Train for every impersonation channel
Training should cover phishing, smishing, vishing, BEC and deepfake voice or video. Practice a scenario in which a real-looking executive asks for a same-day transfer and reward employees for pausing and escalating. Include the rule that secrecy, urgency and a demand to bypass controls are never proof of authority.
Choosing controls for different payment environments
The strongest program combines controls rather than selecting a single detector. Compare each control on the dimensions that affect your workflow:
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| Control | Independent channel | Second approver | Resists a compromised email account | Auditability | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Directory callback to a previously confirmed number | High, if the number predates the request | Not by itself | Yes | Record caller, time and read-back details | Email, SMS, voice and video requests |
| In-person confirmation | Very high | Not by itself | Yes | Document who confirmed and when | Any channel, when practical |
| Dual approval in the payment system | Depends on how approvers verify | Yes | Yes when approvers use separate trusted routes | Strong system log | Payment release |
| MFA | No; it authenticates account access | No | Reduces account takeover | Authentication logs | Email, finance and collaboration accounts |
| SPF, DKIM and DMARC | No; they authenticate domains and messages | No | Reduces spoofing, not a compromised account | Mail reports and headers | Business email |
| AI voice or video detector | No | No | Unproven as a payment decision | Not a substitute for approval records | Only the media it can analyze |
Speed matters during an urgent payment, but a callback and second approval can be designed as a standard, documented fast path. A detector that produces a probability score without proving authorization should never override those controls.
Worked examples
A lookalike finance-director email
An email from finance-director@examp1e.com asks for a wire to a new account before close of business. The correct response is to stop, inspect the full address and invoice, then call the finance director using the corporate directory. If the director did not send it, alert security and preserve the message. If the director did send it, read back the new account and obtain the normal second approval; do not rely on the director’s reply in the original thread.
A cloned voice message from a chief executive
A voice message uses the executive’s familiar cadence and says a confidential acquisition requires a cryptocurrency transfer within an hour. Do not call the number that left the message or send a code requested during a callback. Contact the executive through a previously confirmed number or in person, verify the purpose and beneficiary, and require two approvers. Cryptocurrency and secrecy are independent reasons to escalate.
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A supplier’s genuine mailbox appears to request that all future invoices go to a different account. Because the account could be compromised, obtain the vendor’s contact from your procurement record, call a second known contact if policy requires it, compare the change with the contract and have two internal approvers sign off. Keep the old account unchanged until the verification is complete.
If money, credentials or codes were already sent
Act immediately; recovery is time-sensitive and cannot be guaranteed.
- Contact your bank, wire service, card issuer or cryptocurrency service through its official fraud channel. Request a recall, freeze or hold where available and provide the transaction identifier.
- Stop additional transfers and disable or secure any account whose credentials or MFA information may have been exposed. Change passwords from a clean device and revoke suspicious sessions according to your security team’s procedure.
- Preserve the original message, full headers, URLs, phone numbers, recordings, invoices, chat exports and transaction records. Do not delete the thread or alter files.
- Write a timeline covering the first contact, every response, the payment authorization, the transfer time and the information disclosed.
- Report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and local law enforcement. Follow your organization’s breach and insurer notification requirements.
Tell the bank exactly when the fraud was discovered and ask what additional documentation it needs. A quick report improves the chance of intervention, but no service can promise that funds will be recovered.
Questions to settle before any urgent transfer
- Did I obtain the contact route before this message arrived?
- Did I verify the complete beneficiary and account details, rather than only the sender’s identity?
- Has the required second approver reviewed the request independently?
- Am I being asked to use a new channel, keep the request secret, or bypass a normal control?
- Can I show an audit record of who confirmed what, through which channel and at what time?
If any answer is no, keep the payment on hold and escalate. An executive’s real voice, a legitimate-looking domain and a plausible deadline do not replace those checks.
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