Biometric Face and Voice Spoofing Fraud Scam on Video Conferencing Platforms
Criminals use AI-generated deepfake video and voice cloning on video calls to impersonate executives, colleagues, or family members and authorize fraudulent transfers or disclosures.
Part of: Biometric Face and Voice Spoofing Fraud
Last reviewed: 5 July 2026
On nearly every video call, the face and voice are exactly who they appear to be, which is why video feels like proof of identity. Deepfake spoofing targets that feeling: scammers harvest an executive's earnings-call clips or a relative's social media voice, then join a call with a swapped face or cloned voice, plus poor-connection excuses and urgency. The requests, a confidential wire, shared credentials, emergency money abroad, share one trait: they cannot wait. The distinction that matters most: seeing and hearing someone is no longer verification, so any urgent request gets confirmed through a separate channel you initiate.
How this scam works on video conferencing platforms
In business settings, scammers compile short clips of a company executive from public earnings calls, interviews, or social media, then use voice-cloning and face-swap tools to join a video call in real time, instructing an employee to urgently wire funds or share sensitive credentials. The call often includes plausible pretexts, like poor video quality attributed to a bad connection, and time pressure to prevent the target from pausing to verify through a separate channel.
In a more personal variant, scammers clone the voice of a family member from a short audio sample scraped from social media, then place an urgent video or voice call claiming to be in trouble abroad and in need of an immediate wire transfer, relying on the emotional urgency of hearing a 'real' loved one's voice and face to bypass normal skepticism.
Common red flags
- A video call has unusual lag, glitches, or lighting that seems inconsistent with the person's usual appearance
- The caller pushes for an urgent financial transfer or credential disclosure during the call itself
- You're discouraged from hanging up and verifying through a separate, known contact method
- The request is unusual for that person's normal role or relationship with you
- Audio has a flat or slightly artificial cadence, especially during unscripted moments like laughter
- The call originates from an unfamiliar meeting link rather than your organization's standard platform
How to protect yourself
- Always verify unusual or urgent financial requests through a separate, previously known contact method before acting
- Establish a family or team verification phrase that isn't shared publicly, to confirm identity during suspicious calls
- Be cautious about the volume of your voice and face publicly available in interviews, videos, and social posts
- Train finance and executive-adjacent staff specifically on deepfake video and voice call scenarios
- Use platform features like waiting rooms and verified participant lists to reduce spoofed call attempts
- Report and pause any transaction requested solely through a video or voice call without independent verification
How to report it
- Report suspicious meeting links or accounts to the video platform's trust and safety team
- Notify your organization's security or IT team immediately if a deepfake attempt targets your workplace
- Report the incident to your bank's fraud department before any requested transfer completes if possible
- File a report with your national cybercrime or fraud reporting body (e.g., IC3.gov in the US)
Frequently asked questions
How can I quickly test if the person on a video call is really who they claim to be?
Ask an unexpected, spontaneous question requiring a genuine real-time response, or ask them to do something simple like turn their head, since some spoofing tools struggle with unscripted movement. If anything feels off, end the call and verify through a separate, previously known contact method rather than continuing to judge it live.
Are some video conferencing platforms safer than others against this kind of spoofing?
Platform choice matters less than your verification process, since deepfake tools can be used to join essentially any video call. Features like waiting rooms or verified participant lists may reduce risk, but no platform can reliably detect a well-made deepfake on its own.
How much audio or video of someone does a scammer typically need to clone their voice or face?
Voice cloning and face-swap tools can work from a surprisingly small amount of public material, such as a short interview clip or a handful of social media videos. This is part of why the strongest defense is verifying unusual requests independently, regardless of how convincing a call looks or sounds.
Can deepfake video calls really be convincing enough to fool people?
Yes, real-world cases have shown that current AI tools can create real-time video and voice impersonations convincing enough to trick trained professionals, especially under time pressure and poor call quality.
What's the single best defense against this type of scam?
Independent verification through a separate, previously established channel, such as calling a known phone number, is the most reliable defense since it does not rely on judging the call itself.