Taiwanese should beware of fraud schemes using deepfake video, as scammers in China have been using altered likenesses over video chat in an attempt to defraud people, police said on Saturday.
A case was reported last month in China’s Fuzhou involving the head of a technology company surnamed Guo (郭).
Using deepfake technology, fraudsters created a video likeness of a friend of Guo’s, including their voice, which they used to call Guo over video chat.
Photo: Reuters
The “friend” said they were competing for a contract abroad and asked Guo to send 4.3 million yuan (US$607,671) for a deposit.
Believing the request was genuine, as it appeared to come from his friend, Guo transferred the money in two installments.
He later called his friend, who said he had no knowledge of the situation.
Guo said that he had in the past received fraudulent WeChat messages claiming to be from people he knows, but this was the first time he received a video call impersonating a friend using deepfake technology.
As this type of fraud becomes more prevalent, the Taipei City Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division on Saturday urged people to keep an eye out for deepfakes, as fraud trends in China tend to spread quickly to Taiwan.
The division said it has identified three main strategies utilizing digital alterations.
In telephone fraud, fraudsters often impersonate the voice of a family member, friend or public figure to extort money or personal information from the victim, it said.
In video fraud, deepfake technology is used to impersonate the voice and likeness of a real person, such as a company executive, who then instructs the victim to transfer funds or provide confidential information, the division said.
Third, a fraudster fabricates a sensitive image of the victim to blackmail them, it said.
In March, a number of well-known university professors in Taiwan were sent such images, it added.
The best protection against new forms of fraud is maintaining vigilance and skepticism, the division said, adding that unusual requests from strangers or even close friends should be viewed with caution.
When sent media content, especially if it is controversial, people should check the source for credibility, the division said.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas