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AI scammers creating fake videos
Scammers are using AI to create convincing fake videos, but Heather Sullivan has some smart tips to help you protect yourself from falling victim.
HOUSTON - We've been warning you for a while now that scammers can use Artificial Intelligence to create fake videos and con people out of money. But could you spot a deepfake video if it looks just like one of your friends?
Two Houston area women say they were both scammed by AI-generated videos of their friends. Then their images were used to create deepfakes to scam others.
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"It’s crazy. It kind of pissed me off," said Stacey Svegliato.
Stacey says she received a video call on the Messenger app from what looked and sounded like her friend, Sara Sandlin.
"It was her talking to me, and it was going in and out, and all I could get was, 'Hey, my Facebook’s been hacked," said Stacey.
Stacey says she received an access code on her phone and sent it to her. Then a post appeared on Stacey's Facebook page, supposedly selling her father's vehicles, appliances, and furniture. Then Stacey says friends started receiving video messages that looked and sounded just like her, trying to sell the items.
"I have a very distinct voice, so when people say they are talking to me, it’s scary," said Stacey.
Turns out, Sara Sandlin had also just received a video message that looked and sounded like someone she knew.
"It was her face. She had waived, she was smiling, she even moved her hair back out of the way," Sara said, describing the video.
Sara was also duped into sending an access code, items for sale were posted on her Facebook page, and an AI-generated video of her was sent to friends.
"People thought it was me. Some people fell for it, some people didn’t," said Sara.
She says some of her friends reported sending hundreds of dollars for items listed for sale to the video sender, not realizing it wasn't Sara.
Cybersecurity expert Dominic Chorafakis with Akouto Consulting says scammers are grabbing videos posted online to create AI-generated Avatars that look and sound so much like the real person, they can fool people who know them well.
"You can even use a picture of the person and the lip-sychning will take care of the rest. You don’t need long video segments, even a still image will do," said Chorafakis.
To show you how this works, I shot a video of myself speaking, then uploaded it to an online AI tool and typed in a script for my Avatar to say.
"This is an AI-generated video of me. Can you tell the difference between AI and the real thing?" my Avatar said to the camera in the video, looking and sounding like me.
If you're afraid a scammer could create a deepfake video of you, Chorafakis suggests you take steps to protect yourself.
"Number one, limit what you put out there. And use the security features of the platform, restricting who has access to this content, so it’s not just available to the public," said Chorafakis.
Sara and Stacey worry the scammers could continue to use their Avatars.
"Like my friend Sara, they were using her to try to get money that she needed, and it wasn’t even her. So I’m like, jeez, I hope they don't start that with me," said Stacey.
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We reached out to Facebook about this scam. We did not receive a response.
To protect yourself, experts say:
- Keep your social media profiles private and limit what you post about yourself
- Never give an access code to anyone
- Use complicated passwords and multifactor authentication to secure your digital accounts.
Stacey and Sara were locked out of their Facebook accounts and lost access to precious family photos. So it's a good idea to back up any photos or videos you want to keep.