Deepfake Scams: How to Spot AI Video Call Fraud

A live video call has always been the 'proof' people fall back on when something feels off. Open-source tools (DeepFaceLive, avatar SDKs) and commercial 'AI meeting' apps now make convincing real-time face and voice swaps possible on a single laptop, breaking that last line of defense.

• In early 2024, an Arup finance employee in Hong Kong wired US$25 million after a video call where the CFO and other colleagues were all real-time deepfakes (multiple outlets, Feb 2024).
• The FBI's Dec 2024 PSA (I-120324-PSA) warns that generative AI is being used in real time to scale impersonation, romance, investment, and hiring fraud.
• FBI advisory I-052823-PSA documents deepfaked candidates passing remote video interviews — a tactic tied to North Korean IT-worker schemes infiltrating US companies.
• Romance and pig-butchering crews increasingly agree to short video calls using AI filters to 'prove' the persona is real before asking for money.

• Edges around hair, glasses, or ears flicker or smear when the person moves.
• Lighting on the face doesn't match the room, or skin tone shifts as they turn.
• Lip-sync drifts, blinking looks mechanical, or teeth/tongue look blurry.
• The person avoids turning fully sideways, standing up, or moving close to the camera.
• Audio has a slight delay or unnatural cadence, especially on unexpected questions.
• A senior executive joins a video call and immediately pushes an urgent, secret payment.

• Run a live liveness test: ask them to turn their head 90°, stand up and step back, wave a hand slowly in front of their face, or press a finger against their cheek.
• Ask an unexpected, personal question only the real person could answer — and listen for delay.
• Agree on a family or team safe word now, and require it for any urgent money or credential request.
• For any payment, credential, or access request that originates on a video call, verify on a second known channel (call them back on a saved number) before acting.
• In finance, require multi-person approval for wires above a set threshold — never let a single video call be enough.

• If a wire was sent: contact your bank within 24 hours and request a SWIFT recall; speed matters.
• If credentials or access were given: rotate passwords, revoke sessions and tokens, and audit recent activity.
• Preserve the meeting recording, chat logs, and any sender details — they are evidence.
• Report to the FBI IC3 and, for business losses, to your bank's fraud team and local law enforcement.