How Deepfakes Work and How to Prevent Them

Key Takeaway

1. Deepfakes are becoming a major tool for online fraud and identity theft. Cybercriminals now use AI-generated videos and voices to impersonate trusted people and deceive victims.

2. Deepfakes work by using artificial intelligence to copy real faces, voices, and behaviors. This makes them appear authentic, increasing the risk of misinformation and financial loss.
 

3. Protecting yourself requires stronger verification, awareness, and AI-powered defense tools that help stop deepfake-related frauds.

Introduction

Impersonation occurs when someone pretends to be another individual. When someone believes they are interacting with a trusted entity, they are more likely to comply with requests. That’s where the menace of deepfakes comes in.

Deepfakes use digital media to replicate the appearance and behavior of a trusted person or entity, exploiting the victim’s assumption of authenticity in order to commit fraud.

This article addresses what is a deepfake in AI, how criminals use deepfake identity theft, and how to prevent deepfakes, specifically how to protect yourself against deepfakes and how to stop deepfakes from becoming tools of fraud.

What Is a Deepfake?

A deepfake is a media image, video, or audio that has been edited or generated using artificial intelligence (AI) and deep-learning techniques.

In essence, deepfakes present someone doing or saying something they did not do by swapping faces, cloning voices, or manipulating expressions. 

Deepfake Attacks Surge in 2025: Key Statistics and Projected Impact

In 2025, deepfake attacks are projected to escalate significantly, with key statistics indicating a substantial rise in incidents and impact. 

Deepfake-related fraud attempts surged by 3,000% in 2023, and incidents increased by 19% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to all of 2024. Deepfake fraud could rise 162% in 2025, with deepfakes now accounting for 6.5% of all fraud attacks. 
 

There were 179 deepfake incidents reported in Q1 2025, showing the rapid growth of this threat. Additionally, a 35% increase in reported deepfake incidents over 2024 is projected for the entire year of 2025. Financial losses per incident are significant, with some attacks causing millions of dollars in damages

How Do Criminals Use Deepfake Technology?

Criminals deploy deepfake technology in many ways:

1. They conduct deepfake fraud, where a realistic video or voice call of a trusted person is used to deceive victims into wiring funds or providing access.

2. They exploit deepfake identity theft, mimicking someone’s face or voice to gain trust, bypass security checks, or convince victims that an authority figure is speaking.

3. They generate fake media featuring private individuals or public figures for blackmail, corporate espionage, or misinformation.

4. They perform social engineering on a scale: presenting a fake CEO voice call or a fake video of a manager requesting urgent transfers this is how deepfakes intersect fraud and impersonation.

 

Deepfake fraud losses are projected to surge as criminals adopt generative AI tools. Hence, organizations must focus on how to prevent deepfakes and ensure robust verification to guard against these advanced threats.

INTERESTING READ: Deepfake Detection Techniques: A Guide

How Does Deepfake Technology Work?

Understanding how deepfakes are made helps us better understand how to defend against deepfakes.

1. Data Gathering

To create a convincing deepfake, perpetrators assemble large quantities of images, videos, and audio of the target. Multiple angles, expressions, and lighting conditions help the AI learn how the person looks and moves.

2. Training the AI

The collected data is fed into deep-learning models (neural networks) that learn to replicate the person’s facial features, expressions, voice tone, and behavior. 

3. Generator & Discriminator (GAN)

A key technique is the generative adversarial network (GAN). The generator tries to create fake media; the discriminator tries to detect whether it’s real or fake. They compete until the generator produces media so realistic that even the discriminator struggles to tell the difference.

4. Refinement & Deployment

Once training is complete, the system can produce face-swapped videos, audio clones, or other synthetic media convincingly. The result: a high-fidelity deepfake that can deceive humans and algorithms alike.

In short, deepfakes are enabled by advanced AI/ML techniques, and their sophistication requires any fraud prevention strategy to be equally advanced.

How Do You Detect a Deepfake?

Detecting deepfakes is challenging, but there are warning signs. Keeping alert to these can help you protect yourself against deepfakes.

1. Visual Inconsistencies

1. Unnatural blinking or absence of blinking humans blink ~15-20 times per minute when relaxed. 

2. Shadows, lighting, and reflections not aligning with facial movements or background.

3. Blurry or flickering edges around the face.

4. Labial movements (lip sync) do not match audio.

5. Eyes that lack realistic reflections or mimicry of the environment.

 

2. Audio Anomalies

1. Voice sounds too smooth or robotic lack of the usual human intonation or hesitation.

2. Background noise that doesn’t correspond with the scene.

3. The person speaks in a tone or accent that seems off or inconsistent.

 

3. Behavioural Clues

1. Body language doesn’t align with the face or speech.

2. The subject avoids turning their head or making natural expressions.

3. The overall presence feels “off” or disconnected from typical behavior.

 

4. Source Validation & Cross-Referencing

1. Reverse-search images or video frames to see if they appeared elsewhere.

2. Check the upload date and original source of the media.

3. Validate if reputable news outlets or official channels confirm the media.

 

5. Technical Tools

1. Use AI-powered detection tools like liveness detection, which inspect media frames for manipulation artifacts.

Because deepfakes evolve quickly, detection is becoming a continuous arms race so prevention and verification are equally important.

How to Prevent Being Defrauded by Deepfake Technology

AI fakes prevention is paramount when thinking about how to stop deepfakes and how to protect yourself from deepfake identity theft. Below are practical steps for both individuals and organizations.

1. Strengthen Identity Verification

1. Do not rely solely on voice or video for identity checks; use two-factor authentication (2FA) or one-time codes.

2. Add “secret codewords” known only to the legitimate person.

3. Use biometric verification (fingerprint, retina, or facial recognition) where appropriate, but note that deepfakes are also targeting these.

 

2. Technical & Organizational Tools

1. Deploy technology solutions that detect deepfakes, such as AI-powered deepfake scanners.

2. Monitor unusual user behavior or transaction patterns.

3. Train staff and stakeholders on the risks of deepfakes, especially in high-risk roles such as compliance, fraud investigations, and IT.

4. Conduct phishing and scam simulations that include deepfake-style scenarios.

 

3. Personal & Social Media Hygiene

1. Limit how much personal media (photos, voice clips, videos) you publish publicly. The more available your likeness, the easier it is for fraudsters to generate a deepfake.

2. Tighten privacy settings on your social accounts.

3. Be skeptical of urgent or emotionally charged requests, especially involving money, access, or personal data, even if they appear to come from someone you trust.

4. When in doubt, verify via a trusted alternative channel (call the known number, confirm via official contact).

 

4. Corporate-Level Protocols

1. For enterprises, integrate anti-deepfake verification into customer onboarding and ongoing monitoring.

2. Use platforms that connect compliance teams, fraud analysts, and IT departments (aligned with your company’s positioning) to streamline investigation of suspected deepfakes.

3. Include deepfake-specific scenarios in fraud risk assessments and compliance frameworks.

By embedding prevention and detection into your fraud strategy, you significantly reduce exposure to deepfake threats.

Where Does Youverify Come In Against Deepfakes?

At Youverify, we recognize that deepfakes are not just a technological novelty; they are a sophisticated tool of fraud and impersonation that demands enterprise-level defense. 

By offering a unified platform that empowers compliance teams, fraud analysts, and IT departments to detect, investigate, and mitigate fraud (including threats like deepfakes), Youverify is uniquely positioned to support organizations in building resilient defenses. 

In the face of deepfake identity theft and evolving fraud vectors, our solution ensures you’re not relying solely on separate cybersecurity or MFA systems but instead leveraging cohesive, intelligence-driven verification across the customer lifecycle.

Ready to see how Youverify can help your organization defend against deepfakes? Book a demo today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. What is deepfake in AI?

"Deepfake" in AI refers to synthetic media images, audio, or video manipulated or generated using artificial intelligence (AI) and deep-learning algorithms to depict a person doing or saying something they did not.

Q2. How to protect yourself against deepfakes?

To protect yourself against deepfakes, you should: 

(1) apply strong identity verification (e.g., 2FA, biometrics)

(2) verify via independent channels when requests feel urgent or unusual

(3) restrict what personal media you share publicly

(4) use tools and training to detect audio/visual anomalies

(5) Educate your team and network about deepfake risks. 

These steps reduce the likelihood of being targeted by deepfake fraud.

Q3. How to prevent deepfakes from being used in fraud?

Preventing deepfakes from being used in fraud at the organizational level involves implementing advanced detection tools, integrating verification processes that go beyond voice/video, training staff, conducting regular risk assessments, and embedding fraud awareness in compliance frameworks. Preventative measures help keep pace with sophisticated deepfake identity theft threats.

Q4. How to stop deepfakes targeting your organization?

To stop deepfakes targeting your organization: 

1. Deploy detection systems that monitor for synthetic media.

2. Require multi-factor and biometric authentication.

3. maintain awareness of emerging deepfake scams. 

4. Have clear protocols for verifying internal communications.

5. Simulate deepfake attack scenarios in training.

Q5. What is online deepfake identity theft?

Online deepfake identity theft refers to the misuse of deepfake technology by criminals using AI-generated audio or video to impersonate individuals or manipulate victims into fraudulent actions.

Q6. Are there tools to defend against deepfakes?

Yes. There are technical tools such as AI-powered deepfake scanners, watermarking systems, metadata analysis, and reverse-image/video search.