Scammers are stealing people's faces for live video calls

*Social media posts show how scammers use two phones to fake their faces in live calls to their targets. Image: Ampere News*

BY KERRY TOMLINSON, AMPERE NEWS

All it takes is two phones and a cheap or free app. Criminals are swiping people’s pictures and using deepfake technology to pose as them in live video calls. It’s a crafty scheme that is bringing them success, especially with romance scams.

The crooks are brazen enough to post tutorials on social media so other criminals can do the same. They show little fear of getting caught, as many of the scammers live overseas and out of the reach of law enforcement in the victim's country.

These posts give us an inside look at how these romance scams play out with real victims in conversations that are often painful to hear.

Watch here:

Fake Faces

Scammers can now take on the face of anyone they want in live video calls. The overall effect of these quick and easy live deepfakes is not always high quality. But for many romance scam victims, it is enough to persuade them that their online lover is real.

In videos posted on social media, the criminals show off their operation. One video shows a male scammer posing as a young blond woman in an online conversation with an older victim in Canada. As the scammer speaks, the image of the young blond woman matches his every head and mouth movement.

"Listen," the scammer says, his voice sounding like a woman's voice, "I want to meet with you. I really do want to meet with you. This is one of the reasons I am coming over to Canada."

"So I just want you to do this," the scammer continues. "Take the loan and when I get over to you, I will pay you instantly."

"Mind boggling to see that," said David Maimon, professor of criminal justice and criminology at Georgia State University.

Maimon and his team investigate these and other online crooks as part of their research, exposing the latest tools and tactics used in fraud. In the past, romance scammers, often based in Nigeria, stole still images of other people from social media. Now they're taking IT to a new level.

"We're seeing the criminal using someone's image," he said. "They will use specific technology to sort of bring the image to life."

Tools & Tactics

A string of social media videos reveals the scammers' strategies. Some use laptops to transform their faces. Others use two phones, one to change the criminal's face, the other to have the video call with the target.

A crucial step in the process is to shower the victims with compliments.

"You --- way more gorgeous and more beautiful than you were in the photo you sent me," says one young scammer, speaking as an older gentleman with a beard.

"Wow, you look beautiful," says another disguised young scammer to a much older woman.

"I appreciate that," she responds. "I'm very self-conscious about how I look."

"Oh, well, um, you look good," he adds. "Yeah, no, baby. I know you look so good."

Along with the digital flattery, the criminals will often send physical items to the victims' homes, like teddy bears, flowers, even a pizza.

"It's always the marriage between the online and the offline that makes the story more complete, and the victim fall unfortunately, into the scam more easily," Maimon explained.

Odd Images

The deepfake faces sometimes look awkward. The head may stay very still while only the mouth moves. A closer look could uncover the deception.

But the crooks explain away any video or voice oddities by saying there are problems with the call quality.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about. Maybe it was your connection," says one scammer who has stolen the image of a distinguished-looking older man with a white beard.

"Essentially, what they're saying is that they're using a very slow network," Maimon said. "They have no reception. And so this is why the image doesn't really come across as clean as the victim would expect it to. And many of the victims buy that story."

Drawing people out

The crooks also ask the targets to talk about deep, personal issues, creating a false sense of closeness.

"Don't talk to people. 'Cause I know you talk to other people online," a scammer with a stolen face scolds his target on a video call. "And makes me feel so, so sad."

Another criminal pretends to offer support to his online victim during a difficult time.

"Well, you know I don't want you starving yourself. You know I don't want that," he says.

"Well, the medicine I'm on... it suppresses my... eating," the victim says.

"I'm sorry about that, sweetheart. I'm so, so sorry," the fake face says, eyes blinking as the scammer's eyes blink.

"I have to, like, force-feed myself," she responds.

The tactic is both cruel and highly successful.

"It's no surprise, after discussing these kinds of topics with them, it's no surprise that they feel comfortable and okay to send the offenders large amounts of money," Maimon said.

Danger Ahead

These live call scams are going to get worse as AI technology gets better and better, Maimon warned.

That means more people will fall for romance scams, already an epidemic of sorts with record amounts of money lost in the last few years, according to the FBI and FTC.

These live deepfakes are popular with romance scammers, but other cyber criminals are trying it as well. In one case, a crook posed as a friend in need, calling to say that there was an emergency and he needed money quickly.

What to do?

In the past, you could ask an online acquaintance to do a video call. If they refused, it was a big red flag.

Now, they're often happy to talk to you, phone face to phone face --- another way to sell you on their scheme.

Maimon offers these four pieces of advice:

Remember that many profiles are fake
Ask the caller to raise their hands or stand up. The technology isn't quite ready for that yet.
Bring in a friend to take a look at your new relationship. Another set of eyes can spot red flags more easily.
Listen to people at your bank. If they say your situation looks suspicious, believe them.

If you don't listen your friends and the bank, you could end up like the tens of thousands of romance scam victims every year --- broke and heartbroken.

"Mind boggling to see how long these guys can converse with the victims," Maimon said. "Mind boggling to see the deep conversations they get into with those victims, the rapport they build with the victims. And you know the amount of money that the victims end up sending to those criminals."