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How to spot a deepfake and avoid AI voice-clone scams

Scammers now use AI to fake faces and clone voices. Here's how to check a suspicious video or call, protect your family with a code word, and report what you find.

6 min · Updated September 25, 2026

  1. 1Slow down. Scams rely on urgency. If a call or video pushes you to send money or share information right now, treat that pressure itself as a warning sign.
  2. 2Check the face closely. Look for skin that's too smooth or too wrinkled, shadows around the eyes that don't match the light, odd glare on glasses, strange blinking, and lips that don't match the words.
  3. 3Look for other glitches. The FBI says AI images can show warped hands or feet and unusual-looking teeth or eyes.
  4. 4Don't trust a familiar voice alone. A scammer can clone a voice from a short clip posted online. Hang up and call the person back on a number you already know.
  5. 5Set a family code word. Agree on a secret word or phrase with family members that anyone can ask for in a real emergency.
  6. 6Never pay the way scammers ask. Requests for wire transfers, cryptocurrency or gift cards in an 'emergency' are classic scam signs.
  7. 7Report it. In the US, report fraud to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov) and the FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov).

AI can now fake a face on video or clone a voice from a few seconds of audio. The FBI and FTC both warn that criminals use this to pose as relatives in trouble or to trick people into sending money. You can't rely on "it looked real" or "it sounded like her" anymore, but a few habits make you much harder to fool.

Spotting a fake video or photo

No single clue proves a video is fake, and the tools keep improving. Look at several things together. MIT's Detect Fakes project suggests focusing on the face:

  • Skin: too smooth or too wrinkled for the person's age
  • Shadows: around the eyes and eyebrows that don't match the lighting
  • Glasses: glare that doesn't shift when the head moves
  • Blinking: too much or too little
  • Lips: movements that don't match the words

The FBI adds warped hands or feet and odd-looking teeth or eyes.

Beating voice-clone calls

This is the scam most likely to reach you. A caller sounds exactly like your child, parent or boss and needs money now. The FTC and FBI advice is simple:

  1. Don't trust the voice. Hang up.
  2. Call back on a number you already have.
  3. Ask for your family code word.
  4. Refuse wire transfers, crypto or gift cards.

If it happens to you

Report fraud to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the FTC. If someone shares intimate deepfake images of you, US platforms must now provide a way to request removal and act within 48 hours of a valid request.

Want the background? Read our explainer on what a deepfake is.

Quick questions

How can you tell if a video is a deepfake?

Focus on the face: unnatural skin, mismatched shadows, odd glare on glasses, strange blinking and lips out of sync with the words. MIT researchers say people get better at spotting fakes with practice.

How do voice-clone scams work?

Scammers copy a person's voice from a short recording, often found online, then call a relative pretending to be in trouble and ask for money fast.

What is a family code word?

A secret word or phrase your family agrees on ahead of time. In a real emergency call, you can ask for it to confirm who you're talking to. The FBI recommends it.

What should I do if a deepfake of me is posted online?

In the US, the TAKE IT DOWN Act requires platforms to offer a way to request removal of non-consensual intimate images, including AI deepfakes, and to act within 48 hours of a valid request.

Sources

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