Video calling is a common thing for us, we often make video calls to our family and friends. So much so that you can video call your friends, family, and colleagues while sharing your face and surroundings simultaneously.
In such a situation, what if you fall for a fake video call, in which the number is different, but the person talking to you is recognizable? This is due to deepfakes, which are used by scammers. In such a situation, you must avoid such calls.
AI deepfake and fake video call
While deep fakes once required enormous amounts of computing power, advances in deepfake technology and artificial intelligence processing have made the process much easier. It's getting harder and harder to pick out a high-quality deepfake.
Furthermore, AI voice generators are easily accessible and, with enough source material, can be trained to sound deceptively similar. That is, the AI voice generator is enough to make you a threat. You can adopt these methods to detect fake video calls.
video quality
The quality of these videos is usually poor. If the fake video comes from an online source, check for a watermark or other indication that the video is stolen.
video size
When anyone is making a fake video call to you, it will resize the video to fit the webcam window or app they are using. Resizing the video will distort the ratio of the video, so it will look out of shape.
Contact
Is the person calling you on your contact list? If not, does the name mean anything to you? Alternatively, does the contact's name appear as the name of an app?
Content
If the video call is from someone you know, and their contact information is correct, what is the content of the video? Is that person calling you in the video as well?
Loops and cuts
Many fake videos will initially loop after a certain amount of time has passed. The video will stop abruptly at the end but the video call will not end.
Also, if one is using a face-swapping app with video functionality, the chances of the faces being aligned correctly are very slim. For example, using a tool like Avatarify can bring an avatar to life for use in a simulated video call, but facial movement will not be seamless.
Won't be a problem
Now you know some of the methods used to make fake video calls. Mobile apps like WhatsApp and FaceTime have built-in security mechanisms to prevent fake video calling and other scams.
