Deepfakes are out of control Thomas Boutell 3/14 '24

So, deepfakes are officially out of control.

Someone connected with us fell for one that could’ve cost him a fortune the other day, and he’s not 80, they had his son’s voice and caller id.

And this morning I fell for an incredible fake SpaceX live stream until fake Elon started trying to get me to send him crypto. But understand I was watching what I was absolutely sure was the real launch feed for 20 minutes before that, complete with live commentary.

And of course, YouTube's algorithm fell for it too. The scam artists took advantage of the originally scheduled launch time to go live with a very accurate copy of the real channel. Damn.

Check the receipts. Check URLs, text people back and let them know it's an emergency that you confirm something you think you just heard them say, call people back, ask their girlfriend if they’re really in jail or just busy in a meeting and not getting back to you.

This is one of those moments when someone who has been paying a lot of attention to what's going on with a technology decides it's time to start telling their friends and relations and anyone who will listen to be really damn careful. Be really damn careful.

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3/14 6 Comments
I'm fascinated by the fake launch feed! I wonder how many other people were watching it. Was it then reported to YouTube, or...?
Anne Mollo
I believe it had thousands of viewers which is how it popped up for me in a search so easily. I reported it and I’m sure many others did too but when I looked 20 minutes later, it was still there.



Apparently this is not the first time, but the production values this time were tremendous. Like now I know to be suspicious if they are that good, not that bad.
Thomas Boutell
My family made a standing agreement a few months ago not to believe any requests for money or personal information from each other without some sort of informational test.

“Leaning toward _____?” (Fill in the blank)

“What was our 3 legged cat’s official name? What did we usually call him instead? Who were his parents?”

“What did I give Jenn a box of for Christmas in 1987?”



CM Adams
This is an excellent idea.
Lindsay Harris Friel
Excellent idea. OPW could have a similar standing agreement.
Robert Bryan
What was your costume for Ursula’s Halloween party?

What was my fee for lending you my car to drive to Pittsburgh?

Who jumped into a cake at your bachelor party?
CM Adams