Consumers overestimate their ability to detect deepfakes

DEEPFAKES use digital technology to replace someone's face or voice in a video or sound recording with that of someone else, in a way that appears real. Most people would dismiss deepfakes as simple hacks, if often outrageous ones at that, but a new online identity study reveals that such a cavalier attitude toward deepfakes could render ordinary consumers very vulnerable to such attacks, including identity fraud.

The Jumio 2023 Online Identity Study, the second installment of its annual global consumer research conducted by Censuswide, highlights an understanding among consumers around the world how generative AI and deepfake technologies could accelerate identity fraud and the subsequent need for digital identities for online verification and authentication. At the same time, consumers also appear to overestimate their ability to spot deepfakes, which could render them even more vulnerable to attacks.