Deepfakes
Deepfakes are a relatively new phenomena where digital tools like artificial intelligence (AI) are used to create images or recordings that look real but are not.
What is it?
Deepfakes are video, photo or audio files that use real or made-up people and are produced using digital tools like AI to create a false reality. Deepfakes are generated by a kind of machine learning called ‘deep learning’, which is how they get their name.
Deepfakes can show real people saying or doing things that never happened. These fakes can sometimes be very convincing and hard to distinguish from reality.
How they work
Deepfakes can be used by attackers in a number of ways, either to blackmail, cause distress or spread disinformation.
Scams and fraud
Deepfakes can be used to enable financial fraud and scams. They can, for example, create authentic-sounding voice messages that ask for large sums of to be sent to a new company bank account - which is really controlled by the scammer. Deepfakes can even mimic a real person in a live video call and trick someone into taking some kind of action – again, this usually involves sending money.
Privacy
Deepfakes can be harmful when they show people in fake situations without their consent. For example, they have been used to create fake sexually explicit material depicting real people, then posted online – often by an anonymous account. This can be extremely distressing for the people who are targeted and is considered a criminal offence in some countries.
Disinformation
Another dangerous application of deepfakes is in spreading disinformation online. For example, a deepfaked clip of a political leader could be used to circulate false health information or show them giving a speech with very controversial viewpoints. When these clips are posted without context, they can appear to be real and may be very damaging to the people shown in them.
Things to look for
- Be alert and trust your instincts: deepfakes may have small imperfections.
A deepfaked voice may sound ‘off’, or a deepfaked video could have slightly unnatural human movement. - Be cautious about unsolicited messages. Always take time to verify from another source that a message is real before taking any action.