Not too long ago, deepfake was just another internet trend. People used deepfakes out of curiosity to see the internet’s creative magic.
However, things have gotten way more dangerous, unethical, and illegal over time. Deepfake scams started as innocent pranks and have now become major cybercrime tools.
Cybercriminals can now clone your face and voice to impersonate you in no time. Deepfakes have become shape-shifting monsters that can take any shape and be extremely convincing.
Before diving deeper into the issue, it is important to address this crime as serious. Discuss the implications of this technology whenever you seek any cyber security service. Especially if you run a business, deepfakes can cost you, your team, and your organization a fortune.
Let us understand what deepfakes are and what you can do to protect your identity online:
What Exactly Is Deepfake?
Deepfake refers to any piece of media generated or altered using AI. It includes images, sounds, or videos that look authentic but often impersonate someone.
Smart generative models can learn patterns of a person’s voice, mannerisms, and looks to impersonate the same digitally. A few seconds of your voice are enough to create a fake phone call that sounds almost perfectly like you. It is the same with images and videos.
While earlier deepfakes were poor in quality and easily recognizable, they are only getting better with time. Tools for creating them are getting cheaper, further lowering the barrier for deepfake scams and abuse.
Why Do Scammers Love Deepfakes?
What could have been an interesting AI experiment has become a menacing cybercrime tool. Here is why scammers worldwide chose deepfake:
Believability
The latest deepfakes are extremely difficult to detect. People often trust familiar voices and visuals without giving their decisions second thoughts. Such high believability sets the perfect stage for scams.
Speed And Scale
Scammers need not spend a fortune to create deepfakes. A ton of off-the-shelf tools (even the free ones) can create deepfakes with a handful of images and a few seconds of audio files. This has considerably increased the scale and frequency of deepfake scams.
Ease Of Use
Social media readily contains images, videos, and voices of millions of people. Scammers can easily extract media from these platforms and use AI tools to create deepfakes within a few seconds. Ultimately, it is a low-friction, high-reward scheme for scammers.
Can You Detect Deepfakes?
Now that we know what deepfakes are, the million-dollar question arises, “can you detect deepfakes?”
While the new-age deepfakes are difficult to detect, you definitely need an eye for them. If you run a business, it is also important to include deepfake detection from local IT security providers. For example, if you want to 100% safeguard your startup in Pune, look for trusted cyber security services in Pune that include deepfake detection and prevention.
If you are wondering how to detect deepfakes on your own, here are a few tips that may help:
Look For Pressure And Secrecy
If any familiar person calling you starts saying “Do this now,” “Do not tell anyone,” “It is an emergency,” and similar sentences, something might be fishy. Most deepfake scammers are in a hurry to get the job done before they are caught. They also have a constant fear of you identifying their scams.
A Switch In Channels
Deepfake scammers often use dedicated channels and accounts to interact with their victims. If any link or request takes you to a different channel for a call with a different account, do not proceed.
Catch Micro-glitches
No matter how good the technology has gotten, it cannot 100% replicate anyone’s voice or looks. There will always be some glitches, and you should be smart enough to catch them.
Look for lip-sync issues, unusual blinking patterns, chopped voices, flat effects, and more to detect deepfakes.
Unconventional Payment Routes
Be immediately careful if anyone (especially a familiar person) asks for unconventional payment routes like gift cards, cryptocurrency, or an unfamiliar bank account. Deepfake scammers will do their best to receive payments in the most mysterious way possible.
Bypassing Standard Processes
You are most likely encountering a deepfake scam if anyone bypasses standard procedures like purchase orders, vendor checks, user authentication, dual approvals, two-factor authentication, etc.
How Can You Protect Your Identity From Deepfake Scams?
Knowing all about deepfakes isn’t enough. Individuals and businesses should know how to stay safe from such scams. While deepfakes are getting increasingly difficult to detect, it is not impossible to protect your digital assets.
Here is what you can do to protect your identity from deepfake scams:
Always Verify
In the age of extreme digitization and a high-risk digital environment, it is best to trust no one. Always verify the identities of anyone who approaches you and acts suspiciously.
Businesses often use internal code phrases for high-risk transactions and suspicious interactions. If you get a call from an unknown number and the caller claims to be someone you know, hang up and call that person to verify.
Maintain Online Privacy
Give as little data to deepfake scammers as possible by maintaining online privacy. If possible, lock your social media profiles and limit the data you share on any platform openly accessible to internet users.
Increase Payment Security
It is always better to add friction to your payment processes, especially in a commercial setting. Focus on dual authorization, transfer thresholds, biometric verification, etc., to make unauthorized payments as difficult as possible.
The Final Word
AI has taken over the global digital space, leading to revolutionary and hazardous results. While it is nearly impossible to completely eliminate threats like deepfakes, you can guard yourself and your company against them. Work with experienced and certified cybersecurity experts for personalized security services that counter AI-related threats with AI-driven tools.