Deepfakes are no longer a gimmick. CEO fraud by video call, fake job interviews and faked evidence have moved from theory into daily business. The good news: many fakes have typical flaws. This article shows how to spot deepfakes in daily work. It also shows what companies should change in their processes to defend against them.
Why Deepfakes Are a Business Problem
Deepfakes moved past celebrity videos long ago. These teams are hit the most:
- Executives and finance: CEO fraud and wire fraud
- HR: faked ID check videos
- Communications: forged statements
- Customer service: cloned voices in social engineering calls
The damage ranges from lost wire transfers to a full-blown crisis for your reputation.
Typical Attack Patterns
- Video CEO fraud: A deepfake video of a top manager asks for an urgent wire transfer. It often comes by messenger or video call.
- Voice clone vishing: A voice you know calls you. But it is made by AI. A few minutes of social media video are usually enough to clone it.
- Getting past ID checks: Fake faces fool automated KYC checks.
- Disinformation: Faked statements about products or people. They aim to move markets or harm a reputation.
Signs of a Fake Video
- Eyes and blinking: The person blinks too often or too rarely, stares with glassy eyes, or the light in the eyes looks wrong.
- Mouth and tongue: Many models still struggle with fine detail of the tongue and teeth. A simple test: ask the person to stick out their tongue or smile into the camera.
- Light and shadows: The face and the background are lit in different ways.
- Facial expressions: The two halves of the face move out of sync. Emotions look staged.
- Hairline, ears, jewelry: Edges shimmer, earrings change shape, glasses sit wrong.
- Lip sync: The ends of words and the closing of the mouth do not match.
Signs of a Fake Voice
- The breathing sounds odd, or there are no pauses for breath at all.
- The voice sounds robotic. Every sentence has the same length and stress.
- There is no background noise, or it does not fit the place the caller claims to be.
- The voice reacts oddly when you interrupt. AI often answers with a slight delay.
What Your Company Can Do
- Always use a second channel: Never confirm a payment order by video or audio alone. At the very least, call back on the known landline number.
- Code words for emergencies: Give executives, finance and HR a passphrase. Check it in any urgent request.
- Four-eyes rule for payments: This matters most when someone wants to skip the normal process. Limits are rules, not hints.
- Awareness training: Add real cases to your awareness program. Make sure executives take part, too.
- Technical help: Use deepfake detection for video calls and incoming phone calls. Sign official statements with verified digital signatures.
- A clear way to report: Treat a suspected fake like a security incident. That includes writing down what happened and securing the evidence for forensics.
Conclusion
Spotting deepfakes is not magic. It takes a trained eye, firm processes and technical help. The biggest lever is still in your processes: a second channel, a code word and the four-eyes rule. Technology catches more and more fakes. But a well-practiced callback to a known number still beats every AI voice.