A new use for deepfakes: doing job interviews pretending we’re different people

With the advent of the coronavirus, many companies have switched to remote work (except for Elon Musk’s companies) even to interview the best candidates. This is where scammers and scammers have found their gold mine.

And the fact is that they have used deepfake technology to impersonate candidates for skilled jobs, using the fact that this happens through Google Meets, Microsoft Teams or Zoom, the FBI warned.

Recently, the agency has noted an increase in the number of complaints about this fraud. Fraudsters used both deepfakes and stolen personal information to trick HR into hiring companies.

Deepfakes are the use of artificial intelligence programs to create realistic yet fake images of a person. In the field of video, technology can be used to replace a celebrity’s face with someone else’s body. This is the most common use.

An FBI advisory reveals that deepfakes also fuel identity theft practices. “Complaints report the use of voice fakes, or possibly voice deepfakes, during online interviews with potential candidates.says the FBI.

Fraudsters have used this technology to apply for telecommuting or work from home jobs at IT companies. And although the FBI has not clearly indicated what the ultimate goal of the scammers is, there are several options.

According to the agency: “some of the positions advertised include access to the client’s PII (personal information), financial data, corporate IT databases, and/or private information.“.

This information can help scammers steal valuable company data and commit new and more serious scams. Fortunately, employers have a way to detect fraud, they say from the FBI.

“If the actions and movements of the lips of the person being interviewed on camera do not fully agree with the sound of the speaker, there is no need to hesitate: this is a deepfake.“, explained to the end.