In short
AI can fake a face and voice on video. How deepfake ads, fake video calls and fake bosses are used to steal money, and how to verify who you see.
Top warning signs: A famous person selling an investment or giveaway; Urgency and secrecy on a call; Odd video details.
First thing to do: Pause. Say you'll call back, then contact the person through a number or channel you already trust.
How the scam works
Deepfake tools can put someone's face and voice onto another person in a video, using public interviews and social media clips. Scammers use them in three main ways.
Fake endorsements: videos of celebrities, business leaders or news presenters promoting investment platforms, giveaways or miracle products.
Fake meetings: a video call where a “manager”, “finance director” or “lawyer” asks an employee to make an urgent, confidential payment.
Fake relationships: romance and friendship scammers who use a face-swapped video call to prove they are real, then ask for money or investments.
Red flags to look for
- A famous person selling an investment or giveaway. Treat every celebrity investment ad as fake until proven otherwise.
- Urgency and secrecy on a call. “Do this now and don't tell anyone” is a warning sign, even from someone who looks like your boss.
- Odd video details. Blurry edges around the face, strange blinking, lips out of sync, or a call that keeps “breaking up” when you ask questions.
- A new payment method or new bank details. Real companies don't change where money goes during a surprise call.
- Refusal to switch channels. The person avoids calling you back on a known number or meeting in person.
What to do if you get one
- Pause. Say you'll call back, then contact the person through a number or channel you already trust.
- Ask a question only the real person would know, or use a family or team code word. See our safe-word kit.
- For businesses: require a second person and a call-back check for every payment or bank-detail change.
- Report fake celebrity ads to the platform showing them.
Can I rely on spotting glitches?
Less and less. Deepfakes are improving quickly, so the safest habit is not to judge the video at all. Verify the request through a separate, trusted channel instead.
If you already paid or shared details
Act quickly. It makes a difference.
- Contact your bank or the exchange immediately and ask them to stop or recall the payment.
- Report to the police and keep screenshots, links and call details.
- Be wary of anyone offering to “recover” the money for a fee.
More help: what to do after a scam, and where to report it in your country.
How to protect yourself next time
Watch for anyone using your identity
If you shared ID documents, card details or a Social Security number, monitoring can alert you when someone opens credit or accounts in your name.
Free: In the US, a credit freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion is free and blocks most new-credit fraud. Elsewhere, ask your bank and your credit reference agency about fraud alerts.
- Aura Partner link US identity theft protection with credit monitoring and fraud insurance.
Keep security software with web protection on your devices
It blocks many known scam and malware websites and warns about dangerous apps. That matters most if you installed an app or "support" tool someone asked you to.
Free: Keep your phone and browser updated, and leave Google Play Protect or Microsoft Defender switched on. Both are free.
- Bitdefender Partner link Security suite for phone and computer with web and scam protection.
Compare the tools that help, and what each costs
Links marked Partner link may earn us a commission, at no cost to you. It never changes our advice, and the free option always comes first. Affiliate disclosure.
Questions people ask
Is it only famous people who get deepfaked?
No. A few photos or a short video from social media can be enough to imitate an ordinary person.
Can a live video call really be fake?
Yes. Real-time face and voice swapping tools exist and are used in business payment fraud and romance scams.
Have you had this one?
Tell other people what the message said and how it reached you. It helps someone recognise it before they tap.
No stories yet. Yours could be the one that warns someone.
Official sources and further reading
We check our guides against advice from government agencies and consumer protection bodies.
- Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud (US FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center)
- Deep-Fake Audio and Video Links Make Robocalls and Scam Texts Harder to Spot (US Federal Communications Commission)
- Bulletin: Fraud using deepfakes (Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre)
