In 2019, the CEO of an energy company in Britain was tricked using a fake voice impersonating the CEO of its parent company in Germany, leading to a payment of nearly €220,000 to cybercriminals. Similarly, in 2024, an accounting employee at a multinational company fell victim to a deepfake video call, causing his company to lose $25 million.
The above incidents demonstrate the growing threat of deepfakes in the security sector, and with modern AI-powered voice cloning and translation capabilities, this threat has become easier than ever. The use of deepfakes often involves collecting basic personal information, such as a person’s phone number.
The team at global security software company ESET gives advice on how to protect our phone number.
1. Beware of phishing. Never respond to spam/calls from unknown numbers, don’t click on random links in your emails/messages, and remember to stay calm and think before reacting to a seemingly urgent situation, as this is how they trap you.
2. Ask your provider about SIM security measures. They may, for example, have the option to lock the card to protect against SIM swapping or additional layers of account security to prevent fraud, such as call forwarding.
3. Protect your accounts with two-factor authentication, preferably using special security keys, apps, or biometrics rather than SMS verification.
4. Think twice before giving out your phone number on a website. While using it as an additional recovery option for your various apps can be useful, other methods such as secondary emails/authenticators can provide a more secure alternative.
5. For online purchases, consider using a prepaid SIM card or VoIP service instead of your regular phone number.
6. Use a reliable mobile security solution with call filtering and make sure third-party cookies in your browser are blocked. Explore other privacy-enhancing tools and technologies.
Naftemporiki.gr with information from APE-MPE