Guide
How to spot AI fakes and scams: cloned voices, deepfakes and fake ads
AI can now copy a voice from a few seconds of audio and put anyone's face on a video. Scammers use this to fake emergencies, bosses and celebrities. Start with the six quick checks, then see real cases, the warning signs, and how to protect yourself and your family.
Cloned voices
2024
A fake president's voice tells voters to stay home
What happened: Before a US primary election, thousands of voters got a robocall in President Biden's AI-cloned voice telling them not to vote. The consultant behind it faced a $6 million fine and criminal charges.
Warning signs: A famous voice calling you personally, with a message that benefits someone else, is a reason to be suspicious.
How to protect yourself: Check surprising announcements on official websites or trusted news before acting on them.
2023
"Mom, these bad men have me": a cloned daughter's voice
What happened: Jennifer DeStefano in Arizona got a call from her 15-year-old daughter, sobbing, then a man demanding a ransom of up to $1 million. It was an AI copy of her daughter's voice; her daughter was safe on a ski trip. She later told the US Senate about it.
Warning signs: Extreme panic, a demand for money fast, and pressure to stay on the line and not contact anyone else.
How to protect yourself: Keep the caller talking while someone else calls the person directly. Use your family code word. A few seconds of audio from social media is enough to clone a voice, so be careful what you post publicly.
Deepfake video calls
2024
A $25 million video call where everyone was fake
What happened: A finance employee at the engineering firm Arup in Hong Kong joined a video call with the company's CFO and several colleagues, and was told to make 15 secret transfers. Everyone else on the call was a deepfake. The company lost about $25 million.
Warning signs: A "confidential" payment request, an unusual way of paying, and senior people pushing to act fast.
How to protect yourself: At work, confirm any unusual payment request through a second, known channel, however senior the person seems. Good companies require two people to approve large transfers.
2023
A Kozhikode man pays a 'friend' on a video call
What happened: A retired man in Kozhikode, Kerala, got a WhatsApp video call from what looked like a former colleague, asking for ₹40,000 for his sister's hospital treatment. He paid. When the caller asked for ₹35,000 more, he called his real friend, who knew nothing. Police called it Kerala's first deepfake fraud.
Warning signs: An old contact suddenly needing money urgently, a short call with poor video, and a new number.
How to protect yourself: Call the person on their old number before paying anything. Report at once: police traced and froze this money.
Fake celebrity ads
2024
The RBI Governor's fake investment tips
What happened: The Reserve Bank of India warned that deepfake videos of its Governor were circulating on social media, promoting investment schemes. The RBI said its officials are not involved in such schemes and it does not give investment advice.
Warning signs: An official or regulator promoting a product. Regulators warn about schemes; they never sell them.
How to protect yourself: Check official websites (for example rbi.org.in) for warnings. If it appears only in an ad or a forwarded video, ignore it.
2024
Sachin Tendulkar "promotes" a gaming app
What happened: A deepfake ad on Facebook used Sachin Tendulkar's face and voice to claim that he and his daughter were winning big money on an online game. He called it out as fake, and Mumbai police registered a case.
Warning signs: Celebrity "secrets" to easy money, with links to apps you have never heard of.
How to protect yourself: Report the ad on the platform and don't download the app. Real endorsements appear on the celebrity's verified accounts.
2023
Narayana Murthy "recommends" a trading app
What happened: Deepfake videos and fake news stories showed Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy promoting automated trading apps. He publicly warned they were fake. People in Bengaluru and Pune later lost lakhs of rupees to platforms promoted with such videos.
Warning signs: A well-known person promising huge, quick or "guaranteed" returns, and pressure to sign up today.
How to protect yourself: Check the person's official accounts. Only invest through SEBI-registered brokers, and never through a link in an ad.
Fake photos & videos
2023
A fake photo of a Pentagon explosion
What happened: An image showing smoke near the Pentagon spread from an account posing as Bloomberg News. Some TV channels repeated it, and US stock markets dipped briefly before officials said there was no explosion.
Warning signs: Breaking news from a single account, with oddities in the image: in this case, the building's columns were different sizes and details blurred into each other.
How to protect yourself: Wait for confirmation from several trusted news outlets before sharing dramatic news.
2023
Rashmika Mandanna's face on someone else's video
What happened: A viral video seemed to show actor Rashmika Mandanna, but it was another woman's video with Rashmika's face swapped in. India's government told social media platforms to remove deepfakes within 36 hours of a complaint, and Delhi Police arrested the creator.
Warning signs: Faces that look slightly "pasted on", especially when the person turns or something passes in front of the face.
How to protect yourself: Don't share it, even to criticize it. Report it on the platform and, in India, at cybercrime.gov.in.
Share this with your family
Scammers often target parents and grandparents, who may not know how good AI fakes have become. Sending them this page, and agreeing on a family code word together, is one of the simplest ways to protect them.
How we chose these cases
Every case is confirmed by police, a regulator or a trusted news outlet, linked on each card. Fakes keep getting better, so the warning signs here won’t always be visible. That’s why the checks focus on what you can always do: slow down and verify through a channel you trust. Seen a scam we should add? Tell us.