Impersonation scams conducted over the phone are a growing threat that may target your business, your employees, and even your customers. In these schemes, fraudsters pretend to be trusted individuals or organizations—such as business executives, government officials, or company representatives—to deceive victims into transferring money, sharing sensitive information, or granting unauthorized access. Impersonation scams can result in significant financial losses, operational disruptions, and reputational harm. Additionally, some scams exploit the trust between your business and your customers, further damaging your credibility. Preventing phone-based impersonation scams requires a multilayered approach to telephony security that combines solutions for call fraud detection and prevention with automated phone call authentication technology.

How Impersonation Scams Target Businesses and Customers

Impersonation scams exploit trust, fear, and urgency to manipulate their victims. Fraudsters often use spoofing techniques to falsify caller ID information, making it appear as though a call is coming from a trusted source like a business, a government agency, or a personal contact. This deception builds trust, encouraging victims to share sensitive information, transfer money, or grant access to secure systems.

Some of the most common impersonation scams include:

  • Executive Impersonation Scams (CEO Fraud) Fraudsters impersonate high-ranking executives, using urgent language to pressure employees into transferring funds, disclosing sensitive data, or bypassing standard procedures. These scams often target finance or HR departments.
  • Vendor and Supplier Fraud Attackers pose as trusted vendors or suppliers, demanding payment on unpaid invoices or making changes to payment details. Employees in accounts payable may be tricked into redirecting payments to fraudulent accounts.
  • Tech Support Scams Fraudsters pretend to be IT personnel or service providers, claiming that they need remote access to an employee’s computer to fix a problem. Once access is granted, they install malware or steal data.
  • Government Official Impersonation Scammers pose as tax authorities, regulators, or law enforcement, threatening fines or legal action to coerce businesses into providing sensitive information or making payments.
  • Customer Impersonation Scams Fraudsters pretending to be customers use stolen information to gain access to accounts, reset passwords, or request refunds, leading to financial and operational losses.
  • Impersonation of a Legitimate Business In these scams, fraudsters pose as representatives of a legitimate company and contact its customers under false pretenses. They might claim there’s an issue with the customer’s account, request payment for a fake service, or steal sensitive information. This damages the company’s relationship with its customers and tarnishes its reputation.

The Impacts of Impersonation Scams

The business consequences of impersonation scams can be severe and far-reaching.

  • Financial Losses Fraudsters often steal money directly through unauthorized wire transfers, fraudulent payments, or theft of customer funds. Losses can range from thousands to millions of dollars.
  • Operational Disruptions Scams that involve malware or phishing attacks can disrupt daily operations, slowing productivity and damaging trust within the organization.
  • Reputational Damage If customers are scammed by fraudsters posing as company representatives, the legitimate business suffers a loss of trust, which can lead to customer attrition and negative publicity.
  • Compliance and Legal Risks Data breaches resulting from impersonation scams can lead to regulatory penalties under laws like GDPR or CCPA, as well as lawsuits from affected parties.
  • Damaged Customer Relationship When scammers pose as your company to defraud customers, trust between your business and your clients can be easily destroyed. Customers may hold your company accountable, even if it wasn’t directly involved in the fraud.

How to Detect Impersonation Scams

Detecting impersonation scams early is essential to mitigating their impact. Warning signs include:

  • Unusual Requests Be wary of calls that request urgent wire transfers, data disclosures, or changes to account details, especially if the caller bypasses standard communication channels.
  • High-Pressure Tactics Scammers often use fear or urgency to force quick action without verification.
  • Inconsistent Caller Details Minor discrepancies in how the caller identifies themselves, such as unusual terminology or deviations in procedures, can indicate fraud.
  • Spoofed Caller IDs Even if a number on caller ID appears legitimate, it may be a result of caller ID spoofing, a common tactic used by fraudsters.
  • Unfamiliar Issues Claims about problems that don’t align with known company operations, such as fake security threats, unpaid invoices, or emergency financial needs, should raise suspicion.

Preventing Impersonation Scams

Preventing impersonation scams requires a combination of technology, training, and robust processes. Key steps include:

  • Authenticate Incoming Calls Use call authentication technologies or protocols like STIR/SHAKEN to verify the legitimacy of incoming calls and reduce spoofing risks.
  • Monitor and Audit Activity Use call monitoring systems to detect unusual patterns and set up alerts for unauthorized or suspicious activities.
  • Educate Employees Train employees to recognize red flags, follow established protocols, and verify suspicious requests independently.
  • Strengthen Verification Protocols Require multi-step verification for high-risk activities such as wire transfers, system access, or changes to payment details.
  • Establish Secure Communication Channels Encourage employees and customers to verify unusual requests by contacting the company through official numbers or email addresses.
  • Restrict Access to Sensitive Data Limit access to financial systems, customer information, and other critical resources to only those who need it.

How to Stop Impersonation Scams in Progress

If you suspect an impersonation scam is underway, act quickly to minimize damage:

  1. Pause and Verify Halt any actions requested by the caller, such as fund transfers or data sharing, and independently verify the request.
  2. Inform Security Teams Alert your IT and security teams to investigate and monitor for potential system breaches or malware.
  3. Contact Authorities Report the scam to law enforcement, regulatory bodies, and relevant fraud protection agencies.
  4. Notify Affected Customers If customers were targeted, inform them promptly about the scam and provide guidance on how to protect their accounts and data.
  5. Review and Strengthen Security Measures Analyze the incident to identify weaknesses and implement stronger safeguards to prevent future scams.

SecureLogix: Advanced Solutions for Call Fraud and Impersonation Scams

SecureLogix delivers a complete voice network security and inbound and outbound call authentication and trust solution. With patented technology and the most skilled team in the industry, we monitor and protect some of the world’s largest and most complex voice networks and contact centers. Our solutions are PBX/vendor agnostic and help to unify policy enforcement, authentication, network intelligence, and orchestration across any voice network. When working with SecureLogix, you get a partner that is solely dedicated to solving call security and trust issues.

SecureLogix® Orchestra One™ Call Authentication & Trust Service

SecureLogix® Orchestra One™ combats impersonation scams with automated authentication and a spoofing detection service. Orchestra One™ lets you eliminate time-consuming and frustrating knowledge-based authentication procedures, so your agents get right to work with customers to increase productivity and enhance the customer experience. To reduce the cost of authentication, Orchestra One™ dynamically orchestrates multiple low-cost and zero-cost metadata services, authenticating each call at the lowest possible price. Outbound spoofing protection services block fraudsters and spammers from spoofing your phone numbers, helping to increase call answer rates while protecting your calling number reputation.

Key Benefits

  • Reduce Called Duration Shave up to 30 seconds off each call to enhance productivity and improve customer experiences.
  • Lower CX Costs Reduce contact center costs through automated authentication.
  • Increase Call Answer Rates Deploy unified, outbound call spoofing protection and trusted call delivery to improve trust with customers.

Additional SecureLogix Solutions

SecureLogix offers additional technologies to protect against impersonation scams and other types of call fraud.

  • SecureLogix Call Defense™ System secures your business lines and contact center from attack, disruption, fraud, and abuse. Combining a call firewall, call intrusion prevention system (IPS), a malicious callers database, and forensic reporting, the Call Defense™ System sits at the edge of your voice network to filter good traffic from bad. By reducing unwanted calls, this SecureLogix solution keeps your voice network safe from threats like vishing, traffic pumping, toll fraud, payday loan scams, and other types of call center fraud.
  • SecureLogix Call Secure™ Managed Service packages the security technology of the Call Defense™ System in a service that’s fully managed by the most experienced call security service team in the business. With Call Secure™, you can improve call fraud defense while freeing your security team to focus on other strategic priorities.

FAQ

Q: What are impersonation scams?

Impersonation scams involve fraudsters pretending to be trusted individuals or organizations to deceive victims into providing money, information, or access to systems.

Q: How do impersonation scams impact businesses?

As a result of impersonation scams, businesses may face financial losses, operational disruptions, reputational damage, compliance risks, and strained customer relationships.

Q: Can impersonation scams target customers?

Yes, fraudsters often pose as company representatives to defraud customers, which can damage the company’s reputation and customer trust.

Q: What technologies can help prevent impersonation scams?

Call authentication systems, fraud detection tools, and monitoring systems can help businesses identify and block fraudulent calls.

Q: Are small businesses at risk of impersonation scams?

Yes, small businesses are often targeted because they may lack advanced fraud prevention systems and dedicated security teams.

Q: Why is Caller ID spoofing so effective in impersonation scams?

Spoofing makes fraudulent calls appear legitimate, making it harder for recipients to recognize scams without additional verification.

Additional Reading