The basics
What is deepfake fraud?
It is fraud in which a fake voice, image or video is used to impersonate a real person so that someone sends money, shares information or grants access.
Last reviewed against Building, Government Office for Science (UK Government) and The Register. Sources
Definition
What the term covers
The government describes deepfakes as a tool criminals use to trick people into paying money, and links their growth to a higher risk of scams [2]. In a workplace the fake is usually of a colleague, an executive or a supplier. The fraud itself is often a familiar one, such as a diverted payment, carried out with a synthetic voice or video in place of an email.
Forms
How it shows up
Voice calls
Fraudsters generate fake audio clips that imitate someone you know or trust and ask for a payment, claiming an urgent situation [9].
Video meetings
In the Arup case, people posing as senior officers appeared on a video conference and a worker transferred about HK$200m [1].
Familiar frauds with a new face
Payment diversion and impersonation fraud existed before deepfakes. Report Fraud advises more than one person to verify before funds move, whatever the method [10].
Difference
What is new
The new element is the believability of the contact, not the goal. The NCSC's advice on phishing, that staff should check important requests by a second type of communication, applies equally here [8].
Where it does not fit
Deepfakes are also used for abuse and misinformation. The government's framework covers non-consensual images and false information as well as fraud [2]. This site covers the fraud side only.
Keep reading
Read next
How common?
How common deepfake fraud is: the government estimate of deepfakes shared, a Gartner survey, UK Finance totals and what none of them can tell you.
Read the guide
Detection
Whether deepfakes can be reliably detected, what the UK government is testing, what experts doubt and why process controls matter more than tools.
Read the guide
Questions
Sourced answers on deepfake fraud: how it works, the Arup case, how common it is, how to verify requests and what to do if money has been sent.
Read the guideHow CyPro can help
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