Sudha Murty's deepfake video misused for investment scam; here's how to spot them

It's been a little over a decade since generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI)-based Deepfake video applications surfaced online.

At the start, it looked harmless, a fun way to engage with friends and family on social media platforms and messenger apps.

One of the most popular was the recreation of the Godfather movie with faces of popular Malayalam actors such as Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Fahadh Faasil- superimposed on Al Pacino, Alex Rocco, and John Cazale. It was viral on Instagram and praised for its creativity.

But Deepfakes have been misused to bring disrepute to high-profile persons such as politicians and film actors. Last year, cyber crooks had targeted Rashmika Mandanna by putting her face on a random woman with skimpy clothes. It raised a lot of user privacy concerns in India, and citizens, including celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, called for stringent cyber laws to curb such online fraud.

Now, Sudha Murty, founder-chairperson of the non-profit charitable organisation Infosys Foundation, has fallen victim to Deepfake. Threat actors have created a synthetic video of Mrs Murty talking about some investment scheme, promising big 20-30 times returns of investors.

Taking cognisance of the video, Murty, who is a Rajya Sabha member, has expressed shock over the misuse of her face to commit fraud on innocent citizens and has urged people to be very careful of such fraud schemes.

“I am really concerned about fake messages using my face and my voice to promote investments promising 20 or 30 times returns. This is all fake and driven by AI and a cunning mind behind it. I will never talk about investments anywhere, anytime. If you see my face or hear my voice promoting investments, do not believe it. This is hard-earned money - please think carefully, verify with a bank or trusted source, and only then decide,” said Sudha Murty.

Here's how to spot Deepfake videos:

Though the latest advancements in generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) have improved the quality of deepfakes, we can still find telltale signs to differentiate a fake video from an original.

--Keep a close eye on the start of the video. For instance, many people failed to recognise that at the start of the viral Mandana video, the person's face was still of Zara Patel; the deepfake tech actually took effect only after the person entered the lift.

-- Observe the person's facial expression from the start to the end of the video. There will be irregular changes in expression during a conversation or an act.

--Look for lip sync issues. There will be a minor audio/video sync issue in the deepfake video. Always try to watch the viral videos a few times more before concluding if it is a deepfake or not.

-- Deepfakes will have a minor variation of body posture, which may not be consistent with a real person's behaviour

-- Always check for the source of the video. Search the same content on search engine platforms to confirm and avoid jumping the gun.

[Note: Make it a practice to read news from authentic and reliable publishers.]

-- And, you can check for online tools from Sentinel, WeVerify, Reality Defender, and NewsGuard Misinformation Fingerprints, but these are subscription services.

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