Deepfakes are becoming increasingly dangerous and realistic. Learn how cybercriminals use AI to fake voices and videos—and how we can protect ourselves.
In the past, fake photos were hard to spot. The only photo-editing programs available—such as Photoshop—made it difficult to make fake photos look real. Now, however, AI services like ChatGPT and Gemini, as well as apps specifically designed for this purpose—such as Canva—allow users to create deceptively realistic fake photos in a matter of seconds. These are now virtually indistinguishable from real photos.
Artificial intelligence is now also being used to generate deceptively realistic fake videos and voices.
Because of such deceptions, deepfakes are becoming one of the biggest cybersecurity risks.
What are deepfakes?
Deepfakes are AI-generated, deceptively realistic media content such as photos, videos, and audio recordings. AI can be used to swap out real faces and voice recordings, allowing people to say or do things they never actually said or did in reality. However, there is a difference between harmless entertainment—such as that used in film projects and satire, for example, in dubbing or even for personal amusement—and deepfakes. The difference is that those involved know it is harmless satire, and it is recognizable as such. It becomes a criminal offense, however, when this is no longer recognizable and, for example, fake news and disinformation are generated about politicians and public figures to stir up unrest or even manipulate elections.
Another form of fraud would be scamming using deepfakes!
In this scheme, money is extorted through deceptively realistic videos and calls from supposed bosses, family members, or other individuals. Another criminal aspect involves “deepnudes,” which is the insertion of faces into pornographic media. This can destroy people’s lives and is a criminal offense. Identity theft also frequently occurs in both private and professional contexts to fabricate compromising content.
How Cybercriminals Use Deepfakes
Fake Calls
Voices of family members or supervisors are often imitated. Victims are then blackmailed into disclosing data or making money transfers.
Corporate fraud
Criminals often impersonate company executives, causing business partners and employees to receive false instructions.
Identity Theft
Fake videos are specifically used to open bank accounts. Biometric data can now be used or copied without authorization, making a fake identity appear deceptively real. This allows identity verification to be bypassed.
Social Engineering
Social engineering combines deepfakes and phishing. This results in a higher level of credibility in fraud attempts.
Known Cases of Fraud
In so-called “CEO fraud,” criminals manipulate employees into transferring large sums of money abroad. Through the use of artificial intelligence (deepfake voices) and precise social engineering, the number of cases and the resulting damages are increasing dramatically.
AI-generated scam calls are seeing an alarming rise worldwide and causing immense damage. Cybercriminals use AI-powered voice cloning and deepfakes to impersonate bank employees, supervisors, or family members.
Social media is the primary source of data for audio deepfakes. Through so-called voice cloning, just a few seconds of real audio material is often enough to perfectly imitate a voice. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X, or LinkedIn pose enormous risks for identity theft and fraud due to publicly accessible videos.
Why Deepfakes Are Becoming Increasingly Dangerous
AI tools are becoming increasingly accessible these days.
These tools come at little or no cost.
These deepfakes are spreading faster and faster through social media.
How to spot deepfakes
In videos
Unnatural eye movements: Artificial faces often blink irregularly, too infrequently, or not at all. Dead, fixed stares or unnatural light reflections in the pupils are also common flaws.
Strange lip movements
Look for asymmetrical facial features or when lip movements don’t match the audio track (lip-syncing).
Distorted facial features: Unnatural movements of the head or shoulders may indicate post-production editing.
For Audio
Unusual Emphasis
People emphasize words emotionally and intuitively adjust pitch and volume. If the voice sounds completely monotonous (like something out of a robot’s textbook) or if the pitch changes mechanically, proceed with caution.
Lack of emotion
Audio deepfakes can often be exposed by a mechanical, monotonous intonation. Real human voices vary in pitch and volume and express organic emotions such as joy or anger. Artificially generated voices often sound flat, unnatural, or exaggerated in their emotional tone. audio
Lack of natural pauses: Artificial intelligence often struggles with natural rhythm. Watch for choppy transitions, pauses that are too long, or sentences that are rattled off unusually quickly without taking a breath.
General Warning Signs
Unexpected requests for money: Money is demanded unexpectedly. Often, emergencies or a sense of urgency are feigned to justify this.
Intense time pressure: You’re pressured to act quickly, and everything must be done immediately. You’re not given time to make decisions but are pressured to take immediate action, such as making a bank transfer.
Unusual communication channels:
You are contacted through unnatural communication channels such as social media. These are not the official profiles of the people you’re communicating with.
Precautions
Always verify the identity of the person you’re communicating with. If they hesitate, you can assume it’s a scam.
Always call back from known phone numbers.
Use two-factor authentication.
Never share sensitive information too quickly.
Train the employees in your company.
The Future of Deepfake Technology
The future of deepfake technology is shaped by a constant “cat-and-mouse game” between increasingly sophisticated forgery methods and advanced detection systems. As manual detection by the human eye increasingly fails, state-of-the-art defense systems rely on automated, AI-powered forensics, hardware-based authenticity certificates, and explainable AI.
New Legal Regulations
For example, there are new guidelines that take a firm stance against sexualized content.
Digital media literacy is rapidly evolving from a useful soft skill into a vital cultural competency, as the distinction between reality and AI-generated content becomes increasingly blurred.
Conclusion:
Digital deepfakes are no longer merely entertainment but criminal offenses and fraud mechanisms. Cybercriminals use the technology professionally, just like “real companies.” Vigilance and technical protective measures are becoming increasingly important today.
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