Santander’s Deepfake Videos Showcase AI Scams 

Santander bank has released videos of deepfakes to warn people about the realistic threat of deepfakes, how real they are, and how one could identify them.  

The videos featured fraud lead of the bank, Chris Ainsley, and the social media influencer Timi Merriman-Johnson with the purpose of showing people how scammers use deepfake technology to conduct a fraud or a scam. 

Deepfake, Nothing but a Threat 

In one video, Mr. Ainsley says, “For scammers, it is a powerful tool they can use to steal your money.” To elaborate how it does function, Ainsley gives several signs that show that the video is a deepfake one, such as blurring mouth, less frequent blinking, odd light reflection in glasses, and unnatural backgrounds, urging people to trust their feelings, if ever they felt something wrong. 

The video also warns people that organizations such as HMRC and banks are commonly impersonated.  

In another video, a deepfake of Mr. Merriman-Johnson offers an “incredible investment opportunity.” The real Mr. Merriman-Johnson then explains, “That definitely wasn’t me. That was a deepfake video,” explaining to viewers that deepfakes are something people will witness a lot in the future. 

He also advises people to double check the legitimacy of companies or even individuals through the Financial Conduct Authority Register if in doubt. 

For his part, Ainsley emphasized that generative AI is swiftly evolving and “if’ we start to see an influx of scams with deepfakes lurking behind them.” He also added that scammers are already using social media to spread videos of fake investments opportunities. 

Raising Awareness Is a Must 

A July poll by Opinium for Santander bank surveyed 2,000 people and found that more than half of them either hadn’t heard about deepfakes or misunderstood what they meant. Only 17% felt confident they could easily identify a deepfake video. It also appeared that many people had seen a deepfake often on social media – 36% said they had willingly watched one. Also, due to deepfakes, 59% now are more suspicious of what they see or hear. 

Final Thoughts 

The rise of deepfakes is one enormous issue invading the world currently, especially within the digital world Reality and manipulation, in this age of fast technological advancement, have interwoven with each other so much that it has become hard for a person to know where truth lies. Therefore, educating people and raising about such a threat must be a key priority, as it aims to protect people and preserve transparency of interactions in the digital world. 

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