The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) cautioned the public, particularly small business owners, against deepfake impersonation enabled by artificial intelligence.

In RH 5 Val Gonzales’ report on Wednesday, the CICC issued the urgent warning with owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in mind, following reports indicating that they have become a “primary” target for AI-driven fraud.

According to the CICC, cybercriminals are now using artificial intelligence to clone business owners’ voices and likenesses to fool their employees, and even clients, into disclosing sensitive data and authorizing transactions.

“(T)he era of simple phishing is evolving into the era of Deepfake Impersonation,” the agency said.

The CICC noted that a telltale sign of deepfake fraud is an “artificial” sense of urgency. Employees must be on the lookout for such scams.

“These “synthetic” requests often carry an artificial sense of urgency, pressuring staff to bypass standard security protocols,” it wrote in a statement.

“While AI has been a boon for productivity, the CICC notes it has become a double-edged sword. CICC noted that the first line of defense remains the vigilance of the employees themselves,” it added.

The CICC advised victims report the crime through their hotline at 1326. Alternatively, should a more detailed report be necessary, victims may submit one through the agency’s ScamSafe initiative.

Based on a 2024 Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report, there are 1,241,476 businesses registered in the Philippines, many of which are micro-enterprises.