Warning to Canadians about scams

Everything scammers need is a few seconds of sound from someone they want to impersonate. They often use a short audio clip or a picture as an additional tool to convince victims and potential victims that the content is genuine.

What Is Deepfake?

Deepfake or deepfake technology refers to manipulated or created media using artificial intelligence. These scammers often use familiar names like American TV personalities such as "Gill King, Tucker Carlson, and Bill Maher" to build trust. While the voice matches the video well, it's fake. "Elon Musk," the founder of Tesla, is trying to sell fake crypto stocks.

Creators of these deepfake or synthetic media videos, like robocalls and spam emails, have scammed thousands of dollars from people. There is no specific data on the number of Canadians targeted specifically with deepfake content.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported in 2022:

Canadians have lost a total of $531 million to fraud. As of June 2023, the reported losses due to Canadian frauds amounted to $283.5 million.

Worsening Scam Techniques in Canada

"Mark Dally," a technology expert, said the scariest aspect of these deepfakes is that the technology is advancing, making it increasingly difficult to detect their fakeness. Technological advancement in the last 5 years has been rapid. For example, in the past, creating a deepfake or synthetic content required highly skilled individuals with access to exclusive technical software, but now anyone with moderate knowledge of artificial intelligence and access to gaming computers can disseminate false information through an internet personality, like a well-known politician or celebrity.

Google stated regarding deepfakes:

They use their technology to add watermarks to images generated by artificial intelligence to identify false claims and doctored photos.

A Google spokesperson said:

"We are committed to keeping people safe on our platforms, and when we see content that violates these policies, we take action against it."

"We continue to strengthen our enforcement efforts to combat misuse and deception. We've launched new certification policies, added personal identity verification, and increased our capacity to identify and prevent planned frauds."

How Experts Detect Deepfake Content

Experts say that with the advancement of AI technology, people tend to question the online media they follow. Dov also says to focus on the overall image of a person compared to the background, including their hair and the areas around their face, especially when the speaker is in motion.

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