On a live deepfake call, the dependable checks are behavioural rather than visual: an unusual channel, pressure for secrecy, a payment request, and resistance to being called back. Any one of those matters more than anything you think you see.
Attempting to judge authenticity from the image is a losing position. The Arup employee sat in a meeting where everyone was fake and noticed nothing, which tells you the visual test had already failed.
Documented cases
- Arup: a full video conference of AI-generated colleagues, about US$25.6 million lost.
- LastPass: the employee spotted the wrong channel and the urgency, not the audio quality, and stopped there.
- Binance saw a synthetic version of its communications chief used in video meetings with outside parties.
The control that breaks it
- End the call and reconnect on a number or account you already hold. A live deepfake cannot follow you.
- Ask for the request in a system with an audit trail, then verify it there.
- Treat refusal to be called back as decisive on its own.
- Use a pre-agreed challenge phrase for verbal approvals.
Related: how to spot a deepfake · how to prevent deepfake fraud · Deepfake & synthetic media
Related
Social Engineering Examples