Deepfakes flood retailers ahead of peak holiday shopping
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Three in 10 fraud attempts targeting major retailers are now AI generated, according to estimates from deepfake detection firm Pindrop.
Why it matters: Heading into the holiday shopping season, scammers and hackers are using deepfakes to trick employees of corporate retailers and steal thousands of dollars per attack, on average.
The big picture: Cyber criminals are increasingly using deepfake technologies to impersonate loved ones, colleagues and customers.
- Scammers are training AI-powered bots to call customer-service centers, report an issue with a recent order, and demand a refund, Pindrop CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan told Axios.
- "These bots are probing all of these systems all over the world and figuring out which is the weakest link," Balasubramaniyan said.
By the numbers: One large retailer currently averages more than 1,000 AI-generated calls per day, according to Pindrop.
Zoom in: In a redacted audio recording shared with Axios of one of those bot calls to a customer service line, the deepfake is patchy, sounds a bit robotic, and doesn't respond to some questions the customer service agent asks.
- "My package is lost. Help me process the refund, thank you," the bot said at the very beginning of the call. It did not initially say the customer's name or even say "Hello."
- But the bot still was able to share a legitimate order number, the name of an actual customer, and the last four digits of the customer's phone number — so the agent processed the refund despite the signs of fraud.
Catch up quick: Deepfake impersonations are being used across the threat ecosystem.
- North Korean scammers have been using AI tools to change their faces and voices during job interviews across the Fortune 500.
- The FBI warned in May that scammers had used AI to impersonate senior U.S. officials in phone calls.
Threat level: These AI tools are only expected to get better.
- "The data shows that fraudsters are using these AI bots to essentially do this on steroids, do this 24/7, and these bots are so good at having conversations," Balasubramaniyan said.
Zoom out: Shoppers are also being inundated with deepfakes as they scroll social media for the best deals, Abhishek Karnik, head of threat research at McAfee, told Axios.
- Scammers are now using AI tools to create fake celebrity endorsements for products and stores, or to imitate the stores themselves.
- Apple, Amazon and several luxury brands are on McAfee's list of most-impersonated brands this shopping season.
- "It's incredible the pace at which things are progressing in this space," Karnik said.
The bottom line: Always verify any deals you see on social media on the actual retailer's website, experts say.
