Lesson 4 of 8
Deepfakes & voice clones
6 min read
The phone rings and it's your boss's voice: "wire €5,000 now, I'm stuck in a meeting." It sounds exactly right. It's also a deepfake — cloned from a few seconds of audio.
A familiar face isn't proof
Cloning a voice or face now takes seconds of sample and cheap tools. The tells — a flat urgency, an odd request, an unusual channel — matter more than the audio quality, which can be nearly perfect.
Don't authenticate by voice or face — those can be synthesised. Authenticate by channel.
The one reliable check
Hang up and call back on a number you already trust, or confirm through a different app. A real person is happy to be verified; a scammer relies on you not checking. Agreeing on a family or team "safe word" makes this instant.
Verification out of band beats any amount of looking closely.
Any urgent request for money or secrets — especially by voice — deserves a callback on a trusted number before you act. Urgency is the scam's main tool.
Your deepfake defence
- —Voices and faces can be cloned from seconds of sample.
- —Urgency plus a money or secret request is the warning sign.
- —Verify on a channel you already trust before acting.
A video call from a colleague urgently asks you to buy gift cards. Best response?
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