Unmasking the Threat of Deepfake: Protecting Older Adults in the Digital Era
With the rapid advancement of AI, a new threat has emerged – deepfake. This technology gives people the ability to create fake videos or audio files, seamlessly replicating someone’s face and voice. It even allows them to impersonate someone else during a video call. Unfortunately, this innovative technology is being used for scams and fraud. CNN recently reported on a finance worker at a multinational firm who was tricked into paying out $25 million to fraudsters using deepfake technology to pose as the company’s chief financial officer in a video conference call.
Fraudsters who prey on older adults manage to steal billions of dollars annually, and that is a huge problem. With deepfake, they have another tool at their disposal to potentially trick even more people into giving away their hard earned savings. To illustrate how easy it is to get fooled by deepfake, I recorded the following short video. Watch it to get the main points and read the text below if you’d like more.
As humans, we are inherently wired to trust our eyes and ears. Seeing and hearing someone we recognize leads us to believe it’s genuine, and the concept of falseness rarely crosses our minds. Even when confronted with requests for money, suspicion may arise, but most people wouldn’t hesitate to aid a family member in apparent distress.
While technology to detect deepfake does exist, it is predominantly utilized by organizations. Expecting older adults to discern whether a FaceTime call or a phone call from a seemingly trusted family member is authentic is impractical. This alarming reality underscores a significant opportunity for startups. Utilizing existing deepfake detection technology, startups can offer user-friendly solutions, such as a smartphone app for monitoring phone calls or a plugin compatible with video chat apps like Zoom, FaceTime, or WhatsApp.
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