Your weekly dose of scam-proofing in 3 minutes or less—no fluff, just the latest hacks, scams, phishing attacks, and cyber cons you actually need to know about.

🚨SCAM OF THE WEEK: IMPERSONATION SCAMS

Because nothing builds trust like a scammer pretending to be your boss, bank, or gran - now with help from a robot.

What the hell is an Impersonation Scam?

It’s when a scammer pretends to be someone you trust - a company, a family member, a government agency, your CEO - and uses that fake identity to pressure you into sending money, handing over sensitive info, or clicking something stupid.

It used to be sloppy spelling and dodgy Gmail addresses. Now it’s AI-crafted messages, cloned voices, and deepfake videos. Welcome to the future of fraud.

How it works

1. The fake boss:

   You get an urgent email from your CEO asking you to transfer funds, buy gift cards, or share company info. It’s not them - but with AI, the email sounds exactly like they talk. Same tone. Same writing style. You don't question it. That’s the trap.
   

2. The fake family member:

   “Hi Dad, I lost my phone and I need money fast.” Except now the voice note sounds just like your daughter. AI voice cloning tools only need a few seconds of audio. Combine that with a fake WhatsApp profile pic and boom - believable panic.
   

3. The fake authority:

   Scammers impersonate your bank, tax authority, the police, or the immigration office. Their emails look legit. Their texts sound serious. Some even send deepfake videos with fake uniforms and realistic voices.
   

4. The fake delivery company:

   You get a message from “Royal Mail” or “DHL” asking you to click a link. It’s well-written, perfectly branded, and the link looks real - until it steals your login info or installs spyware.

Why it works

✅ AI has made scams slicker than ever - realistic language, custom targeting, and perfect grammar

✅ Voice and video cloning tech can now mimic real people in seconds

✅ Urgency + trust = manipulation

✅ People are still too polite to double-check, especially under pressure

AI hasn’t just scaled impersonation scams. It’s made them nearly undetectable - especially for tired, busy, or non-tech-savvy users.

Real-world facepalms

🎭 In 2023, UK Finance reported over £177 million lost to impersonation scams. The most common? Fake banks, HMRC, and energy companies.

🎭 A finance employee at a multinational firm transferred $25 million after attending a video call with what turned out to be AI-generated deepfake versions of their CFO and colleagues. The scammers used publicly available videos to clone faces and voices.

🎭 In South Africa and the UK, WhatsApp impersonation scams are exploding - criminals use AI voice cloning to leave voicemails pretending to be friends or family in trouble.

How to not get played

• Always double-check unexpected requests - especially for money, passwords, or sensitive info
  

• If something feels off, call the person directly (on a number you trust)
  

• Scrutinise email addresses, URLs, and caller IDs - they’re easy to spoof
  

• Don’t let “professional-looking” or “sounding” fool you - AI can fake both
  

• Trust your gut, but verify with your brain

Final thought:

If your boss, your kid, or your bank is suddenly acting out of character and asking for something sketchy, stop and verify it. AI might be doing a decent impression - but it still can’t fake common sense. 🤙

⚡ SHARP CYBERSECURITY TIP

Cover your tracks. Clear out unused browser extensions - they’re often privacy nightmares waiting to leak your data or serve you malware laced with discount codes.

🔥 ONE-LINER HOT TAKE

If “your boss” ever asks for £500 in Google Play cards, congrats - you don’t need a pay rise. You need new instincts.

That’s it for this week.

If you’ve ever felt weird about a request but went along with it anyway - this is your sign to slow down, double-check, and stop being polite to strangers with email signatures and cloned voices.

Catch you next time,

Dan & the Goldphish Team

📌 P.S. Know someone who’s been voice-noted by a “family member” asking for help? Forward this before they send money to a synthetic scammer, or tell them to subscribe below.👇