16
Lesson 16 · 2 min
Deepfakes and voice clones
AI can now fake a face or a voice from a few seconds of real recording, so seeing and hearing is no longer proof.
A deepfake is a fake video or image made with AI, often showing a real person saying or doing something they never did. Voice cloning copies how someone sounds from a short clip.
Scammers use them to call parents with a crying "child" in trouble, to fake a CEO on a video call, or to show celebrities promoting fake investments.
Visual clues like strange hands or blinking are getting rare. Better defence: check the story through a second channel. Hang up and call the person on their usual number.
Agree a family safe word that only you know, for emergency calls. Try it below: test your instincts on real and fake messages.
Scam or legit?
Read each message as if it just arrived on your phone. Decide, then see the red flags.
Text message+44 7700 900412
Your parcel is on hold: unpaid customs fee of $1.99. Pay within 24 hours or it will be returned: parcel-redelivery-help.com
Do it now
Set up a family safe word
- 1.Choose a word or short phrase that is easy to remember but not on social media.
- 2.Share it in person with close family.
- 3.Agree: if anyone calls asking for money in an emergency, ask for the word. No word, no money.
Words from this lesson
- Deepfake
- A fake video, photo or audio clip made with AI to show a real person saying or doing something they never did.
- Voice cloning
- Using AI to copy someone's voice from a short recording so it can say anything. Common in phone scams.
- Phishing
- Fake messages that pretend to be someone you trust to trick you into clicking a link, paying or sharing passwords.
- Multimodal
- Able to work with more than one kind of input or output, such as text, images, sound and video together.