The Lab
Seeing through deepfakes
A voice, a video or a photo you trust, but made with AI. Short videos show you how it works, and five habits keep you safe.
Seen with your own eyes. Still fake.
A deepfake is a video, voice or photo made or changed with AI. Someone seems to say or do something that never happened. A few seconds of audio and a few photos are enough, and it even works live, on a video call.
Why is that dangerous?
With a deepfake, a fraudster becomes someone you trust:
- The boss on a video call, asking you to move money quickly and quietly. In Hong Kong this really happened: everyone on the call was fake except the employee. Fifteen transfers later, about 25.6 million US dollars was gone. Read the whole story
- A family member on the phone, with exactly the right voice: "I'm in trouble, can you send money now?"
- A famous face in an advert, recommending a "safe" investment.
- Fake pictures of you, to blackmail you or damage your good name.
It works because we believe our eyes and ears. Especially when someone is in a hurry.
Are AI Videos Too Good Now? How to Spot AI and Why It's So Hard
Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)The videos come from YouTube (Google). Nothing loads until you press play; from then on YouTube can set its own cookies and see your IP address.
- Are AI Videos Too Good Now? How to Spot AI and Why It's So HardWhy AI images are ever harder to spot, and what helps - from labels and watermarks to reverse search and common sense. (opens in a new tab)
- 'Me or AI' with James NesbittActor James Nesbitt has to guess whether he's hearing his own voice or an AI clone. Easier said than done. (opens in a new tab)
- Safe Phrases: Stay safe against AI voice cloningWhy a phrase you agree with family and friends unmasks a cloned voice. (opens in a new tab)
Picked and checked by our team on 4 October 2026. The videos belong to their makers.
What do you do?
Five habits against deepfake fraud
Spotting a deepfake gets harder all the time. So don't rely on your eyes, rely on a fixed routine.
- A rush is the alarm - Money, codes or data, urgently and in secret? Stop, however real it looks. A real colleague or bank can wait a moment.
- Call back yourself - Hang up and call the person or the bank yourself, on a number you already had. From your contacts, your card or the official website, never the number from the message or the call.
- Agree a code word - With your family, and at work for payments. A word or question only you know. Does a familiar voice sound strangely urgent? Ask for the code word.
- Four eyes on payments - Never a new account number or an urgent payment on the strength of one message or one call. A second person checks, through another channel.
- Happened anyway? - Call your bank straight away, report it to the police and tell the Fraudehelpdesk (the Dutch fraud helpline). Don't be embarrassed, these tricks are built to fool smart people. All the steps are in Hacked? First aid.
More in the Lab
Rather watch than read?
Our own videos show in a minute how fraudsters work, with a cloned voice or a fake video of the prime minister too.