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What is a deepfake scam?
A deepfake scam uses AI-generated video, audio or images to impersonate a real person, such as a celebrity, an executive or a relative, so that a request for money or crypto seems to come from them. The fake can be a recorded clip or a live video call.
What it means for you
A familiar face or voice on screen is no longer proof of who is asking. If a video or call asks you to send crypto, hang up and contact the person or organization through a number or address you already have. A family code word agreed in advance can confirm a relative, and a celebrity video promoting a giveaway or investment is a known pattern.
How it works
The FBI warns that criminals use generative AI to make fraud more convincing at larger scale: synthetic video for real-time chats with supposed company executives, cloned voices of relatives in a crisis asking for urgent money, AI-made profile photos and fake identity documents, and polished phishing messages and websites. Tells it lists include distorted hands or feet and unrealistic teeth or eyes, but these flaws are not always present. The FTC notes that celebrity endorsements and testimonials in crypto pitches are easily faked.
Sources: FBI IC3 PSA: Criminals use generative AI to facilitate financial fraud, FTC: What to know about cryptocurrency and scams · checked 4 October 2026
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Educational content, not financial advice. Written by hand and checked against the source named above. Something wrong? Tell us and we reply within two business days.