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Imagine answering a call from your boss, voice as familiar as ever, asking you to rush a payment to a supplier only to find out it was a fake. Or getting an email from a trusted client with an invoice that looks legit but instead it’s a total scam. In Australia AI-enabled fraud is hitting businesses like yours with tricks that feel terrifyingly real, fuelled by personal details stolen from leaky databases or records companies shouldn’t even keep.
This isn’t about stolen passwords anymore, it's your identity at risk. In 2024, Aussies lost over $2 billion to scams with businesses increasingly targeted by these high-tech cons. Phishing scams alone drained nearly $20 million in the first half of the year. But here’s the good news: you can fight back with smarter, proactive tools that keep scammers out from the start.
You’re a small business owner and your phone rings, it’s the CEO or so it sounds and they’re urgently asking you to wire $10,000 to a new supplier. You trust the voice, you act fast and then… it’s gone. That’s no prank; it’s an AI voice clone, built from just three seconds of audio scraped from a voicemail or video. Or maybe you get a polished invoice from a regular client but instead it’s a deepfake email crafted to trick you into paying a scammer’s account. These cons hit hard with 70% of us saying we couldn’t tell a cloned voice from the real thing. Just look at the 2024 scam where fraudsters cloned Queensland Premier Steven Miles’ voice to push fake deals, catching even savvy folks off guard.
So, where do scammers get the personal info to pull this off? It’s maddening, but it often starts with data breaches when companies with inadequate security let hackers grab names, emails or even personally identifiable information PII such as passports, driving licences or visa documentation. In 2024, Australia saw a record 1,113 recorded breaches, up 25% from the year before with 69% of these from malicious attacks like ransomware. By early 2025, ransomware attacks spiked 126% often exploiting forgotten databases or unsecured devices.
Here’s how they get in:
- Poorly Protected databases: Hackers love stealing employee logins or exploiting systems without multi-factor authentication. The 2025 Qantas breach for example, saw nearly 6 million customers’ details including names, emails, addresses all leaked when cybercriminals, possibly using AI deepfakes, tricked staff via a third-party platform.
- Storing info you don't need: Some companies keep old records including employee IDs or client details, way past what’s required, turning them into sitting ducks. The 2023 Latitude breach exposed driver’s licenses and passports from 2005 because of over-retention and weak credential checks. Optus and Medibank’s 2022 leaks with millions of IDs and medical records stolen via ransomware and rogue APIs are still fuelling scams today.
- Vulnerable supply chains: Over 50% of Aussie businesses faced cyberattacks in 2024 with 36% using AI, often through trusted vendors with lax security. A 2024 healthcare breach let scammers access patient data through a vendor, feeding voice-cloning and fake invoice scams.
These breaches are like handing scammers a playbook. With your name, address or a snippet of your voice from social media, they craft fakes that feel personal. Qantas warned its customers to brace for scams using their leaked data to sound legit. The ACCC and National Anti-Scam Centre are calling for a united front government, police and businesses like yours to stop this. Because when your identity’s stolen, it’s not just cash it’s your trust, your reputation and your business’s future.
We’ve all relied on old-school defenses such as passwords, firewalls and crossed fingers only to panic when a scam slips through. But in this age, reacting after the fact is like mopping the floor during a storm. What if you could stop scammers before they start by not holding onto risky data at all?
That’s the game-changer: verify identities upfront, use biometrics to block deepfakes and avoid storing sensitive info that hackers crave. By keeping only what you need unlike those over-stuffed databases that fuel scams you shut down the scammers’ playbook to protect your clients, employees and your own business.
At TrueVault, we’re here to make that simple. Our platform instantly checks IDs against trusted government sources like the Document Verification Service (DVS) and uses a quick biometric scan to confirm it’s really you (or your client) ensuring you have to store zero personal data. No forgery, no deepfake risks just fast, secure onboarding that keeps your business safe.
Take one of our clients: a mid-sized firm hit hard by fake supplier invoices. After switching to TrueVault, they slashed fraud attempts by half, hired smarter and got back to business without the stress. It’s not just tech it’s about building a safer Australia, one check at a time.
Want to protect your business? Pop over to TrueVault.com.au and let’s talk about locking scammers out for good.