Deepfakes: From Fun to Fraud

What started as a fun way to modify faces with AI has now become a threat.

Deepfakes entered the world as a new form of entertainment. The idea of watching public figures deliver funny lines or relive movie scenes with other actors was fascinating. Their integration into social media and content platforms generated a wave of creativity, from parodies to viral videos. However, with the advancement of artificial intelligence, this technology went from being a tool for entertainment to a dangerous tool for fraud and identity theft.

What is a deepfake?

Deepfakes are manipulated video, audio, or image content generated using artificial intelligence. They use deep learning to superimpose faces, modify voices, or alter expressions, creating extremely realistic materials. Initially, their primary use was in the entertainment industry, but today they have become a dangerous weapon for deception and manipulation.

Deepfakes and cybercrime

Access to this technology has impacted cybersecurity globally. Identity theft, the creation of fake news, and image manipulation affect individuals, businesses, and even governments. The most common frauds include:

• Opening of fake accounts: Scammers create identities by combining real information with deepfakes, managing to open bank accounts and access fraudulent loans.
• Advanced phishing scams: With fake video messages or calls, criminals persuade their victims to share sensitive information or transfer money.
• Identity theft in companies: They falsify the voices or images of executives to authorize transactions or extract critical data.
• Synthetic identities: They create fictitious characters with false documentation to carry out financial transactions without leaving a trace.

Real cases: Deepfake in digital fraud

Organized gangs have perfected the use of deepfakes to deceive investors and consumers. The fraudulent platform Quantum AIFor example, the scam used fake videos of Elon Musk and other political leaders to lure victims into fake investment schemes. These tactics included videos with AI-generated audio, lip-syncing, and personalized phone calls to convince users to deposit money into fake platforms. 

How can companies protect themselves?

Faced with this growing threat, tools like Your Identity They offer an effective solution to protect companies from fraud and identity theft. Their technology allows users to be validated and manipulation attempts detected using artificial intelligence. Implementing advanced verification systems is key to avoiding financial losses and protecting organizations' reputations.

Your Identity offers a series of services that allow companies to include user or customer validation in their records, procedures, and more. For example, Proof of Life and Face Match: The first one does not require events such as smiling, blinking, moving, reading text or repeating audio, since it is invulnerable to using 3D modeling for facial recognition, detecting spoofing attempts such as photographs, makeup and deepfakes.

For its part, Face Match is an excellent tool for validating official IDs. This service can verify whether two images of a person belong to the same person by analyzing their biometric information. The robustness of the AI technology used allows it to compare images of the same person several years apart and still detect whether they are the same person.

He deepfake It's a clear example of how technology can be a double-edged sword. What began as a game now represents a cybersecurity challenge that requires awareness, regulation, and advanced tools to combat it.