A deepfake is any image, video, or audio that shows a person doing something they never actually did. The name is a portmanteau of the word “deep learning,” which is the machine-learning technique used to generate the images and the word “fake.” Deepfakes are also broadly called synthetic media.
Fraudsters use deepfakes to bypass verification and authentication systems so they can:
Create fake accounts
Access accounts that aren’t theirs
Access sensitive data (personal, financial, health, etc.)
Complete or authorize fraudulent transactions
Create a synthetic ID
and more