Have you been deepfaked? How to protect yourself against this new threat

Have you been deepfaked? How to protect yourself against this new threat

The boom in artificial intelligence tools is raising serious concerns about the growing dangers of deepfakes. Find out certain tips that you can use during video calls to spot a scam in time.

There is a perception that only celebrities become victims of deepfakes with their image. But deepfake technology is spreading so widely that no one can be sure that they will avoid the fate of politicians or actors whose faces were embedded in other people's bodies and fake situations. Deepfake, that is, manipulation of the appearance of a face and voice using deep generative methods, is becoming more advanced and accessible. Companies and individuals began to suffer from deepfake. According to the FBI, more companies are reporting scammers using deepfake in attempts use of deepfakes and stolen information to apply for  remote work and work-at-home positions. 

What is especially alarming is that deepfake technology can now be used in real time. This means that scammers can copy your face, voice, and even your way of speaking and gesturing and pretend to be you during a video call. Or your relative may call you and ask for an urgent money transfer, and you will not even guess that criminals have literally "put on" your image.

Experts say that just several photos of a person or a few minuts of audio recording of a voice is enough to falsify an individual's appearance and voice. And if you have posted on social media some videos of you talking, this is already enough for the criminals to copy your appearance and voice and impersonate you. There are cases where scammers have been able to swindle thousands of dollars out of elderly people by posing as their relatives.

How to detect a deepfake?

There is special software that is designed to find deepfakes in images and videos, but not every user has the opportunity and the necessary knowledge to access them. But there are simple signs by which you can determine whether any content is falsified using artificial intelligence:

  • The first and most common sign is strange blinking. If your interlocutor blinks too often or, conversely, too rarely, then this should alert you.
  • Take a closer look at your interlocutor's face. If there are small inconsistencies in the face of this person, such as hair too close to his eyes or the like, then this could also be a sign of a deepfake.
  • Skin color that is inappropriate for age may also indicate facial falsification.
  • It is especially difficult to fake a reflection in glasses - check if it looks real.
  • If you suspect that you are talking to a deepfake, try to provoke the other person to make an unexpected movement. For example, ask this person to touch his forehead with his hand. Or ask the person to turn their head right and left several times. The deepfake algorithm may fail this test.

You can also proactively strengthen your defense against possible deepfakes among your family. It's very simple. Come up with a secret code word that every member of your family knows and that you can ask if you receive a suspicious call.