IOFM Spring Session Could Have Prevented a $25 Million Deepfake Fraud

A new IOFM Spring conference session could help you avoid being the next deepfake victim.

Using AI images and voices, a Hong Kong-based company was tricked out of $25 million. According to a report from CNN: “A finance worker was duped into attending a video call with people he believed were the CFO and other members of staff, but all of whom turned out to be deepfake re-creations.”

CNN continued: The AP practitioner “initially suspected he had received a phishing email from the company’s UK office, as it specified the need for a secret transaction to be carried out. However, the worker put aside his doubts after the video call because other people in attendance had looked and sounded just like colleagues he recognized.”

Fraud expert Debra Richardson will address frauds like this one at IOFM’s Spring conference. In her session “AI Deepfake Fraud: Can You Tell Which is Real”, she’ll demonstrate how easy it is for fraudsters to mimic known teammates to deceive you into thinking requests are real.

This session promises to teach you “how AI tools can help spot AI deepfakes, as well as some telltale signs of deepfake media that may just help you avoid that next fraud attempt.”

 How to Avoid Falling Prey to a Deepfake Fraudster

1.      Trust Your gut. In the now-infamous Arup case, the $25 million in losses could have been avoided from the start if he had trusted his instinct that requests for “secret transactions” sounded like a phishing email.

2.      Trust, but verify.  A simple phone call could have saved the company millions of dollars in losses. Even if you were just told by someone you thought was the CFO to make 15 secret transactions, it’s always worth double checking.

3.      Set Validation Policies. Anytime anyone asks for a secret, rapid or otherwise unusual payment, it’s best practice to re-confirm the payment details. Blame corporate policy if you’re afraid of looking like you’re wasting the CFO’s time.

Security firm Norton provides 10 additional ways to spot a deepfake:

1. Unnatural eye movement
2. Unnatural facial expressions
3. Awkward facial-feature positioning
4. A lack of emotion
5. Awkward-looking body or posture
6. Unnatural body movement
7. Unnatural coloring
8. Hair or teeth that doesn’t look real
9. Blurring or misalignment where the face/neck meet the body
10. Inconsistent audio and noise

Video conferencing isn’t perfect. Real images can be blurry and we’ve all looked and felt awkward looking at ourselves on camera. But if more than one of these red flags occur, it’s worth a phone call to confirm all details.