HONOLULU (KHON2) — Scammers are always looking for new ways to steal our money which means they’ve gotten pretty good at technology.
Using what’s called ‘deep fakes,’ con artists can create seemingly real video or audio clips to impersonate politicians, and even loved ones.
A ‘deep fake’ uses artificial intelligence to mimic a person’s face, voice or both. The result is a product that appears to be a real person but there are ways to spot these shams.
“it has blurry spots in the video so it’s not completely clear in the whole picture,” Roseann Freitas, BBB Hawaii Marketplace Manager. “Maybe some double edges to the face. Or unnatural blinking or possibly even no blinking with the eyes.”
‘Deep fakes’ are commonly used to impersonate politicians to spread misinformation, but they can be found on fraudulent websites or sent to you via email.
The BBB recommends to take everything you see online with a grain of salt.
“So whether you, whatever site you go to, you do have to have a healthy dose of skepticism in there,” said Freitas.”Make sure, you know first of all first of all, are you at the correct website?”
While misinformation from ‘deep fakes’ is a major issue, scammers can also create a deep fake of a trusted family member or friend.
So if you get any strange requests, it might pay to meet in person to make sure it’s really them.
“Say it’s a video or a voicemail, and they’re asking, especially for a lot of money or something out of the ordinary,” said Freitas. “Just verify.”
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Another tip to avoid deep fake scams, don’t post long clips of yourself online. Deep fakes can only be made if a scammer has access to a selection of videos or recordings featuring your face.
