AI can clone your voice in seconds

A scammer needs a few seconds of your voice to clone it, and if you post videos, you've already handed it over.

Your social clips or your voicemail greeting is enough.

Targeting one person used to take criminals real time and effort, so they went after bigger companies. AI has made it cheap. That changes the maths for every small business owner, because you're now worth the effort.

I think about this for my own family as much as for my clients. I post videos most days, so my voice is out there, and I'd rather set up the defences now than find out the hard way.

There are three things I'd set up this week.

First, agree a safe word with your family and your team. If a voice that sounds like you rings looking for money or a password, they ask for the word. If the caller can't give it, they hang up and ring you back on a number they already have.

Second, turn on two-factor authentication everywhere, and get the codes from an authenticator app instead of your email. If someone gets into your inbox, every code sent there is theirs too.

Third, ask Claude to run a security check-up with you. Describe how you log in and where your passwords live, then ask it what to fix first. You'll get a plain-English list of the weak spots in your own setup.

The same technology making these scams cheap will happily work your side of the fight.

Pick a safe word tonight and tell your team about it tomorrow.