The Context: A New Wave of AI Scams
You receive a video call from a number you don't recognise, but the face on the screen is your beloved nephew. He’s in trouble and needs money urgently. This scenario is becoming frighteningly common across India. Scammers are now using artificial intelligence
(AI) to create 'deepfakes'—hyper-realistic video or audio of a person to impersonate them. A recent McAfee study revealed that 47% of Indian adults have either experienced or know someone who has faced an AI voice scam, nearly double the global average. Criminals can scrape images and voice clips from social media to clone a person's likeness and voice with alarming accuracy. They often invent an emergency, like a medical crisis or being stranded, to create a sense of panic. This emotional pressure is designed to make you act quickly without thinking. For example, a man in Kerala lost ₹40,000 to a scammer who convincingly impersonated his former colleague using deepfake technology on a WhatsApp video call. These scams work by exploiting your trust and your instinct to help a loved one. The technology has advanced so much that simply seeing and hearing someone is no longer enough proof of their identity. Before you ever transfer money under pressure, it's critical to perform some simple, instant checks.
Test 1: Ask a Personal Question
The first and most powerful tool you have is your shared history. AI models and scammers are good at finding public information online, like names of friends or recent trips posted on social media. What they cannot know are the private memories and inside jokes that define a real family relationship. If you feel suspicious, interrupt the urgent request and ask a simple, personal question that only your real relative could answer. The key is to make it specific and un-Googleable. Avoid questions like, “What is our grandmother’s name?” Instead, ask something like: “What was the name of the stray dog we used to feed near our old house in Lucknow?” or “Remember that dish aunty made that I hated during Diwali two years ago? What was it?” A real relative will answer almost instantly, even if they're a bit confused by the random question. A scammer, on the other hand, will likely falter. They may try to deflect, get angry about the delay, or make up a generic answer. Their inability to access this shared private knowledge is a major red flag. This simple 'safe word' or memory challenge can immediately expose a fraudster.
Test 2: Request a Live, Specific Action
Deepfake technology, especially in real-time video calls, is not yet perfect. It often struggles with unexpected movements and interactions. This is where the second test comes in. Ask the person on the call to perform a specific, slightly unusual action. For example, ask them to touch their left ear with their right index finger, or to hold up a common object next to their face, like a pen or their house keys. Deepfake software often works by layering a digital mask of the person's face over the scammer's own. Sudden or complex movements can cause glitches or visual distortions. You might see a lag, a blurry patch around the edges of their face, or the motion might look unnatural. Experts note that asking the person to turn their head fully to the side, to a 90-degree profile, is a very effective test, as most AI models are trained on front-facing images and struggle to render a profile view convincingly. If they refuse to perform the action or make excuses, it’s a strong sign that you are not speaking to who you think you are.
Test 3: Hang Up and Call Them Back
Scammers thrive on controlling the situation. They initiate the call, create the urgency, and dictate the terms. The easiest way to break their control is to end the interaction on your own terms. If you receive a frantic video call asking for money, simply say, “Let me call you right back.” Then, hang up. Do not call back the number that initiated the call. Instead, go to your phone’s contact list and call the number you have saved for that relative. Scammers often use spoofed or temporary numbers that cannot receive incoming calls. If it was a genuine emergency, your relative will answer your call from their known number. If it was a scam, the call likely won’t go through, or the person who answers will have no idea what you're talking about. This was exactly how the Kerala man confirmed he had been scammed; after sending the money, he called his colleague’s real number, only to find his friend had never called him in the first place. This one step not only helps verify their identity but also gives you a crucial moment to pause, step away from the panic, and think clearly.
