Voice Deepfake Fraud Surged 1,300 Percent

Companies can expect a dramatic escalation in artificial intelligence-powered fraud and deepfake attacks across industries, voice authentication and fraud detection technology provider Pindrop warned in a new report.

Among the most striking findings, deepfake fraud attempts rose by more than 1,300 percent in 2024, jumping from an average of one per month to seven per day, while fraud in contact centers reached its highest level in six years.

"Voice fraud is no longer a future threat; it's here, and it's scaling at a rate that no one could have predicted," said Vijay Balasubramaniyan, CEO and co-founder of Pindrop, in a statement. "Deepfakes, synthetic voice tech, and AI-driven scams are reshaping the fraud landscape. The numbers are staggering, and the tactics are growing more sophisticated by the day."

In 2024, Pindrop analysis of deepfake activity over 1.2 billion customer calls found the following:

• 475 percent increase in synthetic voice attacks at insurance companies.
• 149 percent increase in synthetic voice attacks at banks.
• 173 percent increase in synthetic voice calls between Q1 and Q4.
• 61 percent increase in fraud rates of personally identifiable information (PII) and bank account data.
• 26 percent increase in fraud attempts, exceeding Pindrop's projected 4 percent rise.
• A doubling of retail fraud, with the sector now experiencing an average of one fraud attempt in every 127 calls—five times higher than financial institutions.

Pindrop also warned that draudsters are deploying increasingly sophisticated tactics, from spoofing-as-a-service platforms to AI-enhanced phishing and synthetic voice modulation, noting that many are leveraging breached personally identifiable (PII) data and dark web tutorials to bypass traditional defenses, both inside the contact center and beyond. Additionally, the report cites a growing trend in deepfake job candidates using AI-generated voices and video to deceive recruiters during remote interviews, putting corporate hiring processes at risk.

Looking ahead, Pindrop forecasts AI-driven threats growing at an unprecedented pace. It makes the following predictions:

• Deepfaked calls are projected to increase 155 percent in 2025.
• Deepfake-related fraud is expected to grow 162 percent, making up an increasingly large share of total fraud.
• Retail fraud, which rose 107 percent in 2024, is projected to more than double again in 2025, reaching one in every 56 calls.
• Contact centers could face& $44.5 billion in fraud exposure in 2025.

"Fraudsters are evolving at warp speed, so our solutions must evolve even faster," said Rahul Sood, chief product officer at Pindrop, in a statement.