How can I tell if a Zoom or video-call caller is a deepfake?

Ask the caller to do something unplanned: turn their head fully to one side, pass a hand in front of their face, or hold up an object you name. Watch for lag, lips out of step with the words, and blurring around the face. Most important, confirm any request through a separate channel you already trust.

It has already happened

A finance worker at the engineering firm Arup sent about $25.6 million after a video call in which the chief financial officer and other colleagues were all deepfake re-creations. He had doubts about an earlier email, and the call put those doubts aside (CNN, May 2024). The FBI confirms criminals create video for live chats with supposed executives, law enforcement and other authority figures (FBI, December 2024).

Signs on the screen

Lag between voice and face, or lips that do not match the words.
A face that blurs, flickers or slips at the edges when the person moves.
Skin too smooth for the person’s age, or glare on glasses that never shifts (MIT Media Lab).
Unnatural movement, odd teeth or eyes, or a voice that does not quite fit (FBI, May 2025).

Ask for something unplanned

Turn your head fully left, then right.
Wave a hand slowly across your face.
Hold up something on your desk that I name.
Answer a question that the real person would know and that is not public.

Verify outside the call

Whatever you see, confirm any request for money, data or access by hanging up and calling the person on a number you already have, or messaging them on an account you have used before. The FBI advises verifying any new contact details through a platform you have already confirmed, and treating a push to move to a new messaging app as a warning sign.

Good habits for teams

Join meetings from calendar invites you expected, not links in surprise messages.
Agree that money and password requests are never settled on a video call alone.
Make it normal, and welcome, to say “I’ll call you right back.”

How All Around REAL helps

All Around REAL is Your AI PI. If you have a recording of the call, send us the original file. A REAL QUICK video review screens one clip; DOSSIER reviews up to four short original clips together with audio, emails and documents from the same request, in one cumulative review with a Lead Investigator. Clips where the face is clearly visible for a good part of the time give the strongest result.

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