Why these requests feel real
A deepfake scam uses tools that copy someone's voice or appearance from short clips posted online, then pairs that copy with urgency. Families get calls about an accident, an arrest, or a kidnapping, with a demand for money by wire, gift card, cryptocurrency, or a courier who comes to the door. Businesses see executives or vendors impersonated on calls or video meetings to push a payment outside normal approval steps. The technology is new, but the method is old: it relies on panic and on skipping verification. A family code word, or a call back to a number you already know, defeats many of these attempts.
After money has moved
Contact your bank or payment provider immediately and ask them to stop or recall the payment, and tell them it was induced by impersonation. Report to local police and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, especially if a courier collected cash, since in-person pickups sometimes lead to arrests. Save the call log, voicemails, any recordings, the numbers or accounts used, and the messages that came with the call. A business should also notify its insurer and preserve its meeting platform logs. Do not engage with follow-up calls that promise to return the money for a fee.
When your own likeness is the bait
Some people learn their face or voice is being used in a deepfake scam aimed at others, such as fake endorsements or impersonation of a business owner. Platforms usually have impersonation reporting processes, and documenting each instance helps those reports and any later claim. New York has privacy and publicity laws that can reach some unauthorized commercial uses of a person's likeness, and the law in this area is changing, so the current rules need checking for each case. In a first conversation we sort out whether the priority is recovering money, stopping the impersonation, or both. We also tell you which steps are likely to matter and which are unlikely to help.
