The Silent Threat: Why Insurance Fraud Is Moving to the Phone Line

July 14, 2025
Brandon
(HE/HIM/HIS)

If you’re relying on traditional methods to protect your customers and infrastructure from fraud, you may be missing one of the fastest growing threats: voice fraud.

While most insurance providers have built robust systems to detect digital and document-based fraud, voice channels remain dangerously underprotected. That gap is being exploited — fast.

Estimates suggest 10–20% of insurance claims are fraudulent, and 78% of consumers are concerned about becoming victims. Meanwhile, 21% of insurers plan to invest in AI in the next 12–24 months, but few are applying that investment to voice security — despite the growing threat.

In this post, we’ll explore:

  • Why voice-based insurance fraud is surging
  • How traditional protections are failing
  • And how VoiceVault offers the first real-time solution to catch voice fraud at scale

Why Fraudsters Target Insurance 

Insurance fraud occurs when a person or company deliberately misrepresents information — either when submitting a claim or applying for insurance — to make a profit or reduce their cost.

Common targets of insurance fraud:

  • Life insurance
  • Health insurance
  • Property and casualty
  • Workers’ comp

Fraudsters target the insurance sector because of the high-value payouts, predictable call scripts, and weak verification. AI has only made their job easier, enabling the creation of convincing deepfake voices that can impersonate anyone — a policyholder, a colleague, even a company executive.

As AI becomes more sophisticated, so do attackers. While 21% of insurers plan to invest in AI in the next year, most insurers have not taken action to secure the voice channel — leaving a dangerous blind spot in their fraud prevention strategies.

Why Voice Fraud is Increasing

Fraudsters are increasingly using voice channels — especially phone calls — because they offer a powerful mix of vulnerability and emotional leverage.

What Are Voice Channels?

Voice channels used for fraud can include:

  • Live phone calls
  • Robocalls
  • Caller ID spoofing
  • Callbacks triggered by phishing emails or texts

Fraud via phone, known as vishing (voice phishing), aims to extract sensitive information or manipulate individuals into taking action — such as authorizing a claim, releasing personal data, or changing account details.

Why Voice Fraud is So Effective

  • Emotion and urgency: Human voices trigger trust in ways text-based interactions don’t.
  • AI accessibility: Anyone with a computer can now use voice cloning tools.
  • Bypassing security: Sophisticated deepfakes can defeat knowledge-based authentication and even some biometric voice systems.
  • Targeting the unprotected: Many insurers have secured email and web portals, but not voice channels.

The numbers don’t lie: A Pindrip report found a 475% increase in synthetic voice fraud attacks against insurance companies alone.

Example: Deepfake Voice Fraud in Action

Consider this real-world scenario: A finance employee at a multinational firm in China received what appeared to be a legitimate video call from senior company executives. The request? Transfer funds to a new partner.

The catch? The call — and the voices — were completely fake.

Using deepfake voice and video technology, scammers impersonated leadership so convincingly that the employee complied. The result? A $26 million loss.

The implications are clear: Voice fraud is no longer theoretical. It’s happening — and it’s working — even against experienced employees.

Insurers are especially vulnerable:

  • Policyholder impersonation: Fraudsters use voice clones to file false claims or change account info.
  • Internal fraud: Agents and employees can be duped into authorizing actions based on a fake voice.
  • Old-school verification: Static methods like PINs or security questions are easily bypassed.

Why Traditional Fraud Defenses Fall Short

Most current fraud detection systems were built for digital interactions — not phone calls. And that’s exactly where they break down.

Here’s why:

  • Outdated verification: PINs, passwords, and KBA are outdated and easily bypassed via social engineering or leaked data.
  • Voice biometrics alone aren’t enough: Deepfake voices can mimic tone, pitch, and cadence with eerie precision.
  • Context is missing: Traditional systems don’t understand the conversation — just the credentials.
  • No real-time support: Fraud is only detected after the damage is done.

In a world where attackers are using AI to exploit emotion and trust, insurers need a more advanced — and responsive — solution.

The True Cost of Voice-Based Insurance Fraud

Voice-based insurance fraud is rapidly taking over the threat landscape, and the numbers are staggering:

  • 19% increase in voice-based insurance fraud in 2024 alone
  • 162% projected growth in deepfake fraud attacks against insurers
  • 475% increase in synthetic voice fraud attacks, specifically targeting insurance companies

While voice fraud can be costly to insurance providers, the impact extends far beyond financials. These attacks lead to:

  • Fraudulent payouts totaling millions
  • Resource-draining investigations
  • Loss of customer trust
  • Heightened regulatory risk

And yet — few insurers are prepared.

Introducing VoiceVault: Real-Time Protection from Voice Fraud

VoiceVault is the first solution built to detect voice fraud in real time. Insurance companies can use VoiceVault to:

  • Catch inconsistent or manipulative claims during live calls
  • Detect impersonation of policyholders or internal staff
  • Train and support agents with smart prompts and alerts
  • Reduce false positives and investigation overhead

How It Works

VoiceVault securely listens to live phone conversations — not just metadata — and uses conversational intelligence to detect suspicious behavior, inconsistencies, and deceptive intent. It then provides real-time support and alerts to help agents respond immediately — putting insights into action.

What Sets VoiceVault Apart

  • Powered by Modulate’s Voice Intelligence Platform — built to scale without sacrificing speed or accuracy
  • Goes beyond keywords and voiceprints to detect context, tone, and behavior
  • Detects fraud as it happens — stopping attacks in their tracks

VoiceVault is a new — and necessary — layer of protection for your most vulnerable channel for fraud: voice.

Why VoiceVault is the Insurance Industry’s Missing Link

Voice fraud isn’t coming — it’s already here. Traditional tools simply weren’t built for the speed, sophistication, and emotional manipulation of today’s attacks.

VoiceVault is the only tool that:

  • Listens in real time
  • Understands the full conversation
  • Responds intelligently in the moment

It’s AI-powered, future-ready, and designed specifically for high-stakes industries like insurance. If you're investing in fraud prevention — but ignoring voice — you're leaving the door wide open.

See VoiceVault in Action

Don’t wait until your next fraudulent payout to take voice fraud seriously. Schedule a demo to see how VoiceVault can protect your business — and your customers — today.