Cyber Fraud in 2025 Protect Your Business from Vishing

In that past year, over half of Canadian small businesses experienced digital fraud attacks – and more than a third who fell victim suffered financial losses,, according to new data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). Impacted business owners not only lost $7,800 on average, they lost time dealing with the situation, suffered emotional trauma and decreased staff morale. 

Phishing (email), smishing (text) and vishing (phone call) scams remain the most prevalent methods of attack, with new AI-driven voice cloning attacks making vishing scams especially, more convincing and successful than ever. 

Protecting your business and employees from vishing isn’t just a cybersecurity issue — it’s a strategic risk imperative. Akan Insurance brokers are here to help you assess vulnerabilities, strengthen resilience and ensure you’re covered.

What is Vishing? 

Vishing — short for voice phishing — is a form of social engineering where fraudsters use phone calls, often with spoofed numbers or voice-altering technology, to trick people into divulging sensitive information or transferring money. Used by both mass-reaching bots and targeted scams, attackers may impersonate banks, government or insurance agents — or even senior executives — to manipulate you and your employees. 

Many vishing scams rely on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, which allows criminals to disguise their caller ID to look like a legitimate business or institution. VoIP also makes it easy to automate large volumes of scam calls and makes the source difficult to trace.

Voice-Cloning and AI in Vishing 

Nine in 10 business owners are worried AI will make digital fraud more sophisticated and harder to detect. AI has already turbocharged vishing risks: Voice cloning enables scammers to imitate trusted voices — like CEOs or directors — making scams terrifyingly convincing.

What you Should Know about Cyber Insurance 

Many small businesses still underestimate their exposure to cyber threats. According the Insurance Bureau of Canada, more than 60% of small businesses believe they’re too small to be targeted by cybercriminals — and only 22% have cyber insurance. This false sense of security can lead to costly oversights, including the mistaken belief that a general liability policy offers protection against cyber risks.

Cyberattacks can result in business interruption, data breaches, reputational harm, and legal costs—none of which are typically covered under standard liability insurance. Cyber insurance is no longer a “nice to have” — it’s a critical layer of protection in today’s digital landscape. Ask your broker about a policy that also includes support services like attack surface monitoring, dark web scanning, and breach response that helps you respond to and quickly recover from an attack.

Steps to Reduce Vishing Risk 

To combat cyber scams and digital fraud, businesses should implement stricter payment verification processes, increase their cybersecurity investments and enhance employee training. Here are some helpful risk management tips to consider: 

• Employee Training – Run regular awareness sessions to build vigilance. 
• Verification Protocols – Require secondary confirmation for sensitive requests, like a callback to a known number. 
• Tech Tools – Use spam filters, robocall blockers, and spoof detection systems. 
• Simulated Attacks – Test staff with mock vishing scenarios, including AI voice clones. 
• Incident Response Plan – Set a clear plan for reporting, resetting credentials, and alerting IT. 
• Regulatory Support – Leverage Canada’s Do Not Call List and report scams to the Canadian AntiFraud Centre. 
• Talk to your Broker – Your commercial insurance broker will help you assess your cyber risks and advise you on the best coverage options for your business.  

Final Thoughts 

With vishing scams and AI-driven cons on the rise, small businesses in Alberta can’t afford to be caught off guard. At A-KAN Insurance, we help you stay protected with cyber insurance solutions that are set up from digital threats, data breaches, and business interruptions for your business. Vishing scams and AI-driven fraud are working, let’s protect your business for the risks of today — before it is too late.