Two days ago, I saw a social media post that portrays an Omani government investment opportunity specifically created for Omani residents who are over the age of 40 and are planning to leave their jobs and/or retire. The video states that a new financial investment platform has been launched and developed by the Omani government.
The platform allows locals here in Oman to invest as little as RO 100 and earn over RO 385 per week. The video had an official from the Public Authority for Radio and TV interviewing the Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Promotion. Details on how to avail the investment were shared, and viewers were encouraged to click a link, fill in their personal and banking information, and then get the opportunity to become a millionaire. Though the video looked somewhat legitimate, as a reality check, it was all fake. To be more precise, it is a form of deepfake (an artificial intelligence fake video). Many people would be deceived by these types of videos, yet my article today will help share some steps to keep you safe from being scammed.
Deepfake videos have increased by over 900% in the past 4 years, according to Deeptrace Labs. A study by one of the leading cybersecurity institutions predicts that over $5 billion in fraud would be caused due to deepfake videos. Oman’s National Cybersecurity Center also issued an alert on the rise of deepfake-related videos. What does this all mean? You, your colleague at work, and/or family members, in one way or another, will definitely encounter (or have already encountered) a deepfake video, which could scam you off to becoming wealthy or use you to spread false information that may impact others. What can you therefore do? Let me share some steps I personally do.
What I would recommend you do in order to detect a deepfake video is first, verify the source. Who sent you, where did you see it, and was it from an official body? If the video was from an unofficial channel, be careful. Secondly, while watching the video, do you see any inconsistency, i.e., robotic tone or speech of the individuals in the video, unnatural facial expressions, and sometimes see out-of-sync speech and lips from the video?
These are attributes of deepfake videos. Third, listen carefully to the audio generated from the video; you will hear it just sounds either too perfect (but unnatural). This is how AI-generated videos today pretty much sound. Fourth, do a search online and/or about the topic and video; you may find lots of references and links about it probably already. Fifth, there are deepfake video detection tools available for free to download and use. The one I have come across is Deepware Scanner; nevertheless, don’t just blindly trust it but instead use it in conjunction with the suggestions I shared today. Lastly, if something feels off or doesn’t sound right, trust your instincts, as you may be right.
To conclude my article this week, I would like to stress that with a bit of logic, common sense, and some quality research about the video, utilizing the suggestions I shared in my article today, you and your loved ones would stay informed and safe. Deepfake videos are becoming more advanced, localized, and customized to deceive you. Many people have been scammed, and I trust many would be scammed too, unfortunately. Report any suspicious video content you see or receive to Oman's National Cybersecurity Centre in order to combat these scammers from taking the society for a wild ride. Until we catch up again, I take this opportunity to wish you all a blessed and happy Eid Mubarak. Stay safe.
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