Deepfake

In plain language

A fake video, photo or voice made with AI to look and sound like a real person.

The metaphor

Like a flawless forgery of a signature: it looks right to everyone who knows the original, until you check it another way.

Going deeper

How it works

AI can clone a voice from a short clip.
Video deepfakes can show a face saying things it never said.
Attackers use them to ask for payments, passwords or urgent favours.
The defence is a second channel: call back on a known number or use a code word.

Phishing Training builds the pause-and-verify habit. A call-back rule for payment requests is something a vCIO can write into policy.

In practice

A bookkeeper gets a voicemail that sounds exactly like the owner asking for a transfer.
A video call shows a 'supplier' requesting new bank details.
A staff member receives a voice message from a 'relative' asking for money.

How can I tell a deepfake? Often you cannot by looking. Verify through another channel before you act on any money or password request.

Where WILDCARD handles this

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vCIO

Related terms

Every WILDCARD card exists to solve one named problem. Find yours.