There's a type of technology that's providing amusement for a lot of people on the internet these days but is also prone to exploitation. It's called deepfakes and it can be used for video phishing.
Deepfaking is when someone is wearing another person's animated face like a mask. It's a relatively new tech, designed using machine learning tools in order to generate realistic faces. This is made possible by analyzing thousands of images and videos of a target's face so as to extract that person's movements and common expressions, which is then projected onto anyone.
Anyone's face can be morphed into another body, even those of the famous. If you've seen a video of former U.S. President Barack Obama badmouthing current President Donald Trump, that's an example of deepfaking, with Obama as the target.
It's comical, yes, but it can be disastrous.
According to CNN, most deepfakes found on the web as of the end of 2019, were porn videos. There were 15,000 in total, which is a lot but actually meager considering the size of the internet. But there's a reason for the limited number.
Deepfake videos are actually harder to make than they appear -- it takes a lot of computational power to produce one deepfake video. But imagine what would happen if the tech was designed in a way that just about anybody can do it.
Deepfake tech hasn't reached commercial viability yet, but already scams are happening. It's because everything can be copied, from the wrinkles of the face to the subtle cracks of the voice. Already, experts are saying that deepfakes to be used frauds and extortion.
To defend yourself, don't fall for videos or calls supposedly from famous people. If you're unsure of a number, a URL, or of any message for that matter, simply ignore it. If by some chance you've answered an unknown call, hang up immediately.
Using AI to morph into another person and make you believe in lies may sound like the stuff of sci-films, but it is already happening. It's only a matter of time before video phishing hits the mainstream.
Technology is advancing each day; machine learning and artificial intelligence are becoming widely available. It is unfortunate, but expect deepfake scams to become more widespread.
The best way to arm ourselves from falling victims to such scams is by becoming aware and informed. Always keep on the lookout for the possibility of scams making your way.
