For years I have told you about scammers posing as various popular celebrities in ads and on social media luring people into making payments for worthless products.  However, with the increased of Artificial Intelligence these phony ads and scams have become both more believable looking and more frequent as the deepfake and other AI technology becomes readily available to less technologically savvy scammers.  Scammers pose as celebrities in a variety of scams including phony celebrity endorsed products, cryptocurrency investment scams and videos in which the scammers lure unsuspecting victims into downloading malware that can lead to identity theft.

Security software company McAfee recently released its list of the top ten celebrities whose names are used in scams.  They are, in order, Scarlett Johansson, Kylie Jenner, Taylor Swift, Anya Taylor-Joy, Blake Lively, Johnny Depp, and Addison Rae.  Kylie Jenner’s name and image were used for phony social media giveaway scams involving phony cosmetic products.  Taylor Swift, unsurprisingly, has had her name and likeness used in phony product endorsement scams and phony product giveaway scams.

Last summer, AI was used to make a video in which it appeared that Jennifer Lopez was endorsing a skincare product.  She was probably even more upset than most celebrities whose names and images are used in phony endorsements and scams because in the skincare product video, the scammers used AI to add fake wrinkles to her face.

TIPS

Trust me, you can’t trust anyone.  Always confirm any endorsement or connection between a celebrity and any product or program.  Confirm on the celebrity’s website to see if they really do endorse a particular product or program.

While it can be difficult to do, you can also identify many deepfake videos in a number of ways.  One unusual thing that deepfakes often get wrong is how they show fingers.  Often deepfakes have a sixth finger or leave off a thumb. Teeth, eyes and ears may also be flawed in appearance.   Another flaw often that appears in deepfakes is accessories such as necklaces, earrings, scarves and even shirt buttons may appear warped.

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