A voicemail that might cost you your job or thousands of dollars? Unbelievable, right? It’s one of the latest tactics con artists can use to trick you into handing over your company’s or your own money. In the fast-paced world of scam-dom, it’s no surprise any more that bad guys can easily make email or text messages that appear to come from anywhere — from your boss’s account or office account. But now the tricks are substantially harder to detect with voicemails coming into play. New voice-mimicking software is now being used to create convincing voicemail messages. Yeah, that’s scary.

This is how Better Business Bureau has seen this work so far: A voicemail comes from your boss instructing you to wire thousands of dollars to a vendor for a rush project. The request is out of the blue. But it is the boss, his or her voice, so you make the transfer.

Later when you see the boss and confirm you sent the payment, your manager has no idea what you are talking about! It turns out that the message was fake. Scammers use new technology to mimic your boss’s voice and create the recording. This “voice cloning” technology has recently advanced to the place where anyone with the right software can clone a voice from a very small audio sample.

Businesses may be the first places to see this con, but it likely won’t stop there. The technology could also be used for emergency scams, which prey on people’s willingness to send money to a friend or relative in need. Also, with the U.S. now in the midst of the 2020 election season, scammers could use the technology to mimic candidates’ voices and drum up “donations.”

The best way to avoid falling victim to this elaborate hoax whether you are an employee or a business owner is; secure accounts. Set up multifactor authentication for email logins and other changes in email settings. Be sure to verify changes in information about customers, employees, or vendors.

As an employee, it’s important for you to double-check if you ever receive a message like this. Check your company’s protocol for wiring money or sending funds for projects. Employers should create a secure culture by training employees on internet security. Also, it can be very important for offices to set up a check-in system where employees need to get an in-person authorization to send funds over a certain amount.

The best course of action is to educate yourself on the ploys con artists use against individuals and businesses; bbb.org is a good source of current information. Also if you’ve been the victim of a scam, please report it at BBB.org/ScamTracker. Your report can help expose scammers’ tactics and prevent others from having a similar experience.

Jeremy Johnson is the Eastern Idaho Marketplace Manager for the Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific. Contact the BBB at 208-342-4649 or email to info@thebbb.org.