Avoiding Fraud: What are Deepfakes?

Published June 18, 2024

Words by Aiste Joksaite

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The rise of deepfakes is a fascinating yet incredibly troubling development in recent years. These hyper-realistic fake videos and images, powered by artificial intelligence, have captured the public’s imagination and concern. But what exactly are deepfakes, how do they work, and why do they matter?

What Are Deepfakes?

Deepfakes are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else’s likeness. The term “deepfake” reflects the underlying technology that makes these manipulations possible. Deep learning, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), involves training neural networks on large datasets to perform tasks like recognising faces, understanding speech, or, in this case, swapping faces in videos.

How Do Deepfakes Work?

Creating deepfakes typically involves two main steps: training a neural network and generating the altered media.

1. Training the Neural Network:

Data Collection: The process begins with collecting extensive datasets of images and videos of the target person. The more data available, the better the results.

Model Training: These datasets are used to train a deep learning model, often a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN). A GAN consists of two parts: a generator that creates fake images, and a discriminator that tries to identify which images are real and which are fake. The two networks work against each other, gradually improving the quality of the generated images.

2. Generating the Deepfake:

Face Swapping: Once the model is trained, it can be used to swap the face in a source video with the target face. This involves mapping facial expressions and movements from the source to the target, ensuring that the fake face moves and reacts in a realistic manner.

Fine-Tuning: Additional adjustments are made to refine the lighting, colour, and resolution to make the deepfake video or audio as seamless as possible.

Deepfake Applications and Implications

While the technology behind deepfakes is impressive, its implications are vast and multifaceted, spanning entertainment, art, privacy, and security.

1. Entertainment and Art:

Deepfakes have potential applications in movies and video games, allowing creators to bring deceased actors back to life or to de-age performers for certain roles.

Artists can use deepfake technology to create innovative and provocative works, pushing the boundaries of digital art. 

2. Privacy Concerns:

Deepfakes can be used maliciously to create non-consensual deepfake pornography, putting individuals’ reputations and mental health at risk.

Additionally, the ability to convincingly impersonate someone else can lead to identity theft and fraud, which we will touch on more later.

3. Political and Social Ramifications:

Deepfakes can be weaponised to spread misinformation, manipulate public opinion, and interfere with democratic processes through social media platforms.

The potential to create audio deepfakes or deepfake videos of public figures saying or doing things they never did poses a significant challenge for media verification and trust.

Deepfake Risks

1. Identity Theft and Impersonation:

Financial Fraud: Malicious deepfakes can be used to impersonate an individual to gain unauthorized access to bank accounts, execute fraudulent transactions, or obtain loans.

Corporate Espionage: Fraudsters can create deepfake videos or audio clips of CEOs or executives to issue fake directives, manipulate stock prices, or conduct insider trading.

2. Social Engineering Attacks:

Phishing: Deepfake audio or video can be used to enhance phishing attacks, making them more convincing and increasing their success rates.

Business Email Compromise (BEC): Fraudsters can use deepfake audio or video calls to convince employees to transfer funds or reveal sensitive information.

3. Reputation Damage and Misinformation:

Fake News: Deepfakes can be used to create fake news stories, potentially damaging reputations or influencing public opinion.

Character Assassination: Malicious actors can create compromising deepfake content to tarnish the reputation of individuals, especially public figures.

4. Extortion and Blackmail:

False Evidence: Fraudsters can create deepfake videos or images of individuals in compromising situations and use them to extort money or other favours by threatening to release the fake content.

Combating Deepfakes

As deepfakes become more sophisticated, efforts to detect and combat them are also advancing. Researchers and tech companies are developing algorithms and tools to identify deepfake media, often by analysing inconsistencies in the video or by detecting digital fingerprints left by the creation process. Additionally, there is a growing call for legal and regulatory frameworks to address the ethical and legal challenges posed by deepfakes.

Know Your Customer (KYC) processes are essential for verifying the identities of clients to prevent fraud, money laundering, and other illicit activities. With the rise of deepfake technology, which can create convincingly realistic but fake audio and video, KYC processes face new challenges. Here are several ways KYC can safeguard against deepfakes:

Advanced Biometric Verification

Liveness Detection: Modern identity verification solutions include liveness detection techniques to ensure that the biometric sample (e.g., a face or voice) is from a live person present at the time of the capture. This can involve asking the user to perform certain actions (blink, smile, turn their head) or using hardware sensors to detect subtle movements that are difficult for deepfakes to replicate convincingly.

Multi-Factor Biometric Verification: Combining different types of biometric data, such as facial recognition, voice recognition, and fingerprint scanning, can make it more challenging for deepfake technologies to spoof all these biometrics simultaneously.

Cross-Referencing Data

Document Verification: Matching biometric data with official documents (passport, driver’s license) that include embedded security features (holograms, watermarks) can help verify the authenticity of the user.

Database Checks: Verifying the provided information against trusted databases (government records, credit bureaus) can help identify inconsistencies that might indicate fraudulent activity.

AI and Machine Learning

Deepfake Detection Algorithms: Implementing machine learning models specifically trained to detect deepfakes can help identify manipulated media. These models analyse subtle artifacts and inconsistencies in the data that are often indicative of deepfake technology.

Continuous Learning: The system can continuously learn and adapt by incorporating new data and techniques for detecting the latest deepfake technologies.

Behavioural Biometrics

User Interaction Patterns: Analysing how users interact with the system (typing speed, mouse movements, navigation patterns) can help in building a unique user profile. Deviations from this profile can trigger further verification steps.

Keystroke Dynamics: Monitoring typing patterns, which are hard to replicate by deepfake technology, can provide an additional layer of security.

Regular Audits and Updates

Security Audits: Regularly auditing the KYC process and updating the security protocols can help in identifying potential weaknesses and ensuring that the system is resilient against emerging threats.

Software Updates: Keeping the software and systems up-to-date with the latest security patches and improvements can mitigate vulnerabilities that could be exploited by deepfake technology.

User Education and Awareness

Informing Users: Educating users about the potential risks of deepfakes and how to recognise suspicious activities can empower them to participate actively in safeguarding their identities.

Feedback Mechanisms: Providing channels for users to report suspicious activities or concerns can help in early detection and response to potential threats.

By combining these strategies, KYC processes can be more resilient against the sophisticated threats posed by deepfake technologies, ensuring a higher level of security and trust in the identity verification process.

Last Thoughts

Deepfakes represent a remarkable intersection of technology, creativity, and ethical dilemma. While they offer exciting possibilities in entertainment and art, they also pose significant risks to privacy, security, and trust in information. As we navigate this new digital landscape, it’s crucial to stay informed and critical of the media we consume, advocating for responsible use and robust safeguards against misuse. The future of deepfakes is still unfolding, and it’s up to society to shape that future in a way that maximises benefits while minimising harm.

Published June 18, 2024

Words by Aiste Joksaite

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