Fighting Deepfakes: Building Trust And Security In The Age Of AI Scams

Forbes

11-04-2025

Conversational AI Concept - Natural Language Processing - NLP - Computational Linguistics Concept - ... More AI-based Virtual Assistant Generating Voice as a Soud Wave
With the proliferation of scams, bots, and sophisticated deepfakes on social media, how can we discern trustworthy content and individuals from fraudulent people and misinformation? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Catherine Porter, Chief Business Officer at Prove, on Quora:
As scams, bots, and sophisticated deepfakes become more prevalent on social media, distinguishing between organic, trustworthy content and individuals from misinformative sources is increasingly challenging. Social media users can use widely available tools like deepfake detectors and reverse image search engines to help identify AI-manipulated content on their timelines and verify the origins of a piece of content to determine whether it was used misleadingly or out of context. However, it is crucial for all consumers to familiarize themselves with the textbook signs of a deepfake or digital scam.
Today, some of the most common fraud attacks are hyper-personalized to encourage real-time action, and skirt biometrics through the use of AI for tone replication and falsifying statements. However, by examining the uniquely human elements of a piece of content, such as monotonous tone in text, warped anatomical features in images and video, and robotic voiceovers, consumers can identify the telltale signs of AI-generated content. As AI continues to evolve and create new opportunities for bad actors online, consumers must utilize security and authentication tools that can combat scams or phishing bait.
Despite growing awareness of these tools, the responsibility to identify deepfakes should not fall onto the consumer. Social media platforms must develop the infrastructure to verify and moderate legitimate versus fraudulent users. Threats like scammers, impersonators, identity theft, and fraud are increasing on social media, making robust identity verification crucial in protecting both platforms and their customers from harm.
By accurately verifying a user, platforms can mitigate risks, prevent fraudulent activities, and foster a more secure environment for users. Social media platforms need to prioritize trust and safety, specifically in the form of trustworthiness indicators, to reassure users that they can safely transact and engage on the platform. To provide this increased assurance and verification – without adding additional friction to the user experience – platforms can use instant verification processes that require as little as a user's phone number. Verified Users tools use badges and checkmarks to signal a legitimate user, offering highly accurate results through phone number-based validation. Phone number verification gives social media platforms the ability to embed validation checks at critical user touchpoints, such as account registration, transaction authorizations, and password recoveries, securing the platform community and increasing brand reputation, reducing scam opportunities, and lowering operations costs related to fraud prevention.
This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.