How to spot a deepfake? One simple trick is all you need

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With criminals beginning to use deepfake video technology to spoof an identity in live online job interviews, security researchers have highlighted one simple way to spot a deepfake: just ask the person to turn their face sideways on. 

The reason for this as a potential handy authentication check is that deepfake AI models, while good at recreating front-on views of a person's face, aren't good at doing side-on or profile views like the ones you might see in a mug shot. 

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Metaphysics.ai highlights the instability of recreating full 90° profile views in live deepfake videos, making the side profile check a simple and effective authentication procedure for companies conducting video-based online job interviews. 

Deepfakes or synthetic AI-enabled recreations of audio, image and video content of humans has been on the radar as a potential identity threat for several years.

However, in June, the Federal Bureau of Investigations warned it had seen an uptick in scammers using deepfake audio and video when participating in online job interviews, which became more widely used in the pandemic. The FBI noted that tech vacancies were targeted by deepfake candidates because the roles would give the attacker access to corporate IT databases, private customer data, and proprietary information.  

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