A familiar voice or convincing video is no longer reliable proof of who is contacting you. If a caller or message asks for money, an authentication code, account access, or sensitive information, pause and verify the request through a separate contact route you already trust. Visual or audio glitches can prompt closer scrutiny, but their absence does not authenticate anyone.
Why spotting a fake is no longer a dependable test
AI can help scammers create convincing, personalized messages and impersonations at greater speed and scale. The FBI says cloned voices can sound nearly identical to those of people you know, and warns that AI-generated content is often difficult to identify. A polished message, familiar voice, or plausible video therefore cannot establish either the sender’s identity or the legitimacy of the requested action. FBI, “Senior U.S. Officials Impersonated in Malicious Messaging Campaign” (2025); FBI San Francisco, May 8, 2024.
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There may still be clues: distorted features, irregular movement, inconsistent lighting or shadows, and unnatural audio are among the signs the FBI mentions. But these are reasons to investigate, not a pass-or-fail checklist. A recording with no obvious flaw can still be manipulated; an odd-looking recording is not, by itself, proof of fraud. FBI (2025).
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe more useful question is not “Does this sound or look real?” but “Can I verify this person and this request through a separate, trusted route?”
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What an AI-enabled impersonation attempt can look like
In a 2025 alert about a campaign impersonating senior U.S. officials, the FBI described initial contact by text, efforts to move conversations to encrypted messaging apps, and requests for one-time authentication codes, wire transfers, or introductions to associates. The alert also noted that AI-generated voices may be used in voice messages. These are examples from a particular campaign, not a template that every scam follows. FBI, “Senior U.S. Officials Continue To Be Impersonated in Malicious Messaging Campaign” (2025).
The broader risk is not limited to one medium. The FBI has described AI-assisted targeted phishing, social engineering, and voice or video cloning intended to persuade people to disclose sensitive information or authorize fraudulent transactions. CISA has also identified examples including employee audio impersonation, voice cloning, deepfake-video scams, and AI-enabled chatbot phishing. FBI San Francisco, May 8, 2024; CISA, “Risk in Focus: Generative AI and Elections” (as of January 18, 2024).
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How to verify a suspicious call, video, or message
- Pause before acting. Urgency delivered in a familiar voice or realistic-looking video does not remove the need to verify. Treat requests involving money, authentication codes, access changes, or sensitive disclosures as consequential even when the person appears or sounds familiar.
- Reach out independently. Look up a number or contact route you already know, or find one independently. Call or message the person through that route. Do not use a number, link, or callback details supplied in the suspicious communication as your verification method. The FBI advises independently verifying the sender. FBI (2025); FBI, “Spoofing and Phishing” (accessed October 7, 2026).
- Confirm the requested action, not just the identity. Ask whether the person actually made that specific request. For a transfer, account change, credential request, or disclosure, use the separate procedure you normally follow for that action. A real person’s identity does not make an unusual or unauthorized request safe.
- Protect authentication codes and accounts. Never disclose a one-time code in response to an unsolicited request. Enable multifactor authentication where available and do not disable it at a caller’s instruction. FBI, “Spoofing and Phishing”.
- Report suspected fraud. The FBI directs people to report spoofing and phishing to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). FBI, “Spoofing and Phishing”.
What organizations should add beyond employee awareness
The FBI recommends combining employee education—especially about verifying communications involving sensitive information or financial transactions—with technical measures that reduce phishing and social-engineering messages. It also recommends multifactor authentication. These controls can reduce exposure and limit opportunities for account takeover; they are not a guarantee that every attempt will be stopped. FBI San Francisco, May 8, 2024.
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Formal remote identity proofing has additional safeguards. NIST’s SP 800-63-4, Identity Proofing and Enrollment, calls for analysis of submitted digital media for signs of manipulation. It says automated image-analysis systems should be evaluated using both genuine and manipulated media, with performance—including false positives and false negatives—understood. Automated analysis and decisions should be supplemented with manual review to address detection errors.
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For attended remote proofing sessions, NIST calls for trained agents and recommends random human-in-the-loop cues—for example, asking an applicant to move or to move an object between the camera and their face. These are controls for formal identity-proofing workflows, not a universal test for authenticating every business call. NIST also describes fake video feeds as an example of an injection attack and notes that its security discussion does not provide controls specifically addressing AI as a discrete threat type. NIST SP 800-63-4; NIST SP 800-63-4, Security section.
What detection tools and clues can—and cannot—tell you
Media analysis can help flag material for review, but an automated result should not be treated as identity proof. NIST’s guidance emphasizes evaluating systems against genuine and manipulated examples, documenting false-negative performance, and supplementing automated decisions with human review. That guidance supports a layered process; it does not establish the accuracy of any particular consumer detector or offer a universal visual or audio test.
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For a person receiving an unexpected request, the most useful control is usually independent verification rather than trying to diagnose a recording. If a clue raises suspicion, stop and verify. If no clue appears, verify anyway when the request is consequential.
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How can I tell if a voice message from someone I know is AI-generated?
You may notice unnatural audio, but a familiar-sounding voice is not dependable authentication: the FBI says AI-generated voices can sound nearly identical to known contacts. Verify the sender and request through a contact route you obtain independently rather than relying on the recording alone.
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What should I do if my boss or a family member calls asking for money?
Do not send money based only on the call or video. Contact them through a number or channel you already trust, then confirm the specific request and follow the normal procedure for the transfer.
Can you still spot a deepfake by looking for glitches?
Sometimes anomalies such as distorted features, irregular movement, or inconsistent lighting can be clues. Their absence proves nothing about identity, so do not use a visual check as a substitute for verification.
Should I share a one-time authentication code with someone who sounds familiar?
No. Do not disclose a code in response to an unsolicited request. Verify any account issue through the service’s established contact route instead.
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