{"id":209151,"date":"2024-04-17T11:01:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T09:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcloud.com\/?p=209151"},"modified":"2025-11-03T10:53:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T09:53:42","slug":"how-to-protect-yourself-against-deepfake-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcloud.com\/de\/blog\/how-to-protect-yourself-against-deepfake-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"How to protect yourself against deepfake scams in video calls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ongoing public concerns over real-time video scams has been the spur to gain global attention as we witness new major incidents taking place increasingly more. Take a Hong Kong MNC recently falling prey to a scammer<\/a> in a colossal $25.6 million heist \u2014 the deepfake technology has already evolved enough to bring on a whole new brand of fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What remains is a call to action. Are there ways to protect yourself and your organization against con men posing as your boss, your business partner, or even your own mother? Let’s find out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First things first, let us start with the definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a deepfake? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In case the definition of a deepfake is still unclear to some, a deepfake is content generated using deep learning techniques that is intended to look real, but is in fact fabricated. Artificial intelligence (AI) used to generate deepfakes typically employs generative models, for example, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) or auto-encoders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deepfakes are used not only in video content, but also in audio recordings and images. The purpose of a deepfake is often to depict an individual or a group saying or doing something that they never did in reality. To produce content that appears convincing, the AI must use large datasets in its training. It allows the model to recognize and reproduce natural patterns present in content it is designed to mimic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While deepfake technology is a breakthrough with great potential in the film industry and game development, as well as a rising social media trend, it also opens dangerous opportunities for illegal use. The examples are numerous and include identity theft, evidence forging, disinformation<\/a>, slander and biometric security bypass. In all cases, fraudsters typically leverage the depicted person\u2019s authority over the targeted individuals or personal connection to them, depending on the setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Where can you encounter a deepfake?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Deepfakes are used to produce video, audio or image content, as a recorded media or a real-time stream. It can be a YouTube video, a \u2018leaked\u2019 recording in a social post, a phone call or a video conference \u2013 the opportunities are practically unlimited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the purpose, the format is picked accordingly. For example, political disinformation works best where mass engagement is possible, meaning that spreading it publicly via social media is the best tactic. Whereas seeking a private gain from a company or or individual requires a more intimate setting and often a personal conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to threats to your personal life, finance or security, we can narrow down the most dangerous deepfake scenarios to encounters with people you care about, trust , or report to. This can be a family member, a friend, or an authority figure at work such as your boss or a company executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The setting will most likely be private: whether over a phone call or a video meeting. Personal meetings are much easier to execute and give the faker much more control over the situation. The conversation, whatever the background is, will lead you to an action under a sense of urgency or fear \u2013 most likely to transfer a sum of money. The tactic is to deceive your logic and common sense using fear, compassion or even ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As generative AI development drives a huge interest and investment, we are entering a dangerous zone: real-time video, the most sophisticated and convincing deepfake use case yet, still has a very little awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deepfakes in real-time video<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Real-time video deepfakes generate manipulated video content in real-time for immediate application during live streams and video calls. Voice cloning and face swapping are the most frequently used techniques to compose a complete faked environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Face swapping<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Face swapping is a common application of deepfakes, allowing the software to replace facial features of a target person with fake features, most often those of another person. With facial landmark detection and manipulation techniques, the blending appears seamless and hard to spot when caught unaware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voice cloning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to looking convincing, a faker also needs to sound convincing. For this part, voice cloning is used. In voice cloning, the AI replicates the voice of the individual. A significant amount of high-quality audio data is required to train a voice cloning model, usually obtained from recordings of the target person speaking in various contexts and using different intonations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curiosity time: how does a deepfake setup actually work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Deepfake technology is capable of impersonating real-life individuals and doing it in a real-time setting, making the result even more convincing (and terrifying!). But how does the software work in a way that we encounter deepfakes using familiar meeting platforms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deepfake generation software can be integrated with streaming platforms and video conferencing tools in many ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n