Scammers Steal Identities with Deepfakes: How to Spot AI-Generated Deception

AI-generated deepfakes pose a growing threat as scammers leverage advanced AI tools to deceive people, but there are ways to spot the telltale signs of manipulation.

Key Takeaways: The increasing realism of AI-generated voice cloning and video manipulation makes it harder to distinguish deepfakes from authentic content, enabling scammers to misuse the likenesses of trusted figures to promote fraudulent products.

Scammers targeting doctors: British TV doctors have had their identities stolen to sell dubious health products they do not actually endorse, with the deepfake videos quickly reappearing even after being reported and removed from social media platforms.

Industry response and challenges:

• Social media companies say they remove reported deepfake videos that violate policies, but the content often resurfaces.
• Efforts are underway by tech companies to develop deepfake detectors and properly label AI-generated content, but adoption is voluntary and inconsistent across platforms.
• Voice cloning services like ElevenLabs prohibit voice mimicry without permission, but other tools lack such restrictions.

Spotting deepfakes – key signs to watch for:

• Unnatural or overly perfect sound quality, stilted vocals lacking emotion/inflection
• Lip movements that don’t sync properly with the audio or look exaggerated
• Low video quality, odd formatting not matching the claimed source
• Content that seems “too good to be true” or out of character for the supposed creator

Importance of vigilance and verification:

• Treat videos from unfamiliar sources with caution, especially those making extraordinary claims
• Check if the person has previously endorsed similar products/views
• Search for the video content and quotes on reputable sites to verify authenticity
• Be wary of any online content that seems suspicious and always double-check the source

As AI deepfakes grow increasingly sophisticated, critical thinking and thorough fact-checking are essential to avoid falling victim to AI-powered scams. However, a determined effort from tech platforms to detect and prevent the spread of malicious deepfakes is also needed to combat this evolving threat.