FBI report warns people are using deepfakes to apply for remote work

The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has issued a new public service announcement about deepfakes.

The IC3 has received an increased number of complaints alleging the use of stolen personally identifiable information (PII) and deepfakes to help individuals apply for positions that allow them to work remotely, typically from home. Incident reports covered positions associated with "information technology and computer programming, database, and software related job functions," and notably some with access to very sensitive data.

During online interviews, applicants reportedly used voice spoofing, potentially via deepfakes, and the video feed showed interviewees exhibiting lip movements and actions not aligning with the audio. The speech was noticeably out of sync, and in some cases, auditory actions like coughing and sneezing gave away the applicant when the video feed did not reflect the given action.

"Unlike many traditional crimes, crimes in the digital realm can be easily shared, repeated, and even sold, allowing criminal techniques to be marketed and for crime to be provided as a service. This means criminals may be able to outsource the more challenging aspects of their AI-based crime," said Dr. Matthew Caldwell, the first author of a 2020 cyber crime study.

The FBI's PSA provides a link for anyone to report any such incidents or information to the IC3 here.