Advertisement
Features

‘HELLO BOSS’: Inside the Chinese Realtime Deepfake Software Powering Scams Around the World

404 Media has obtained a copy of ‘Haotian AI’, a popular piece of realtime deepfake software marketed to scammers. It can turn a fraudster's face into anyone else's on WhatsApp, Zoom, and Teams.
‘HELLO BOSS’: Inside the Chinese Realtime Deepfake Software Powering Scams Around the World
Image: 404 Media.

“Oh my god. Oh my god,” I yelled as I looked at my own face on someone else’s body. It was all there: my five o’clock shadow, my goofy grin, even the bags under my eyes.

I was on a Microsoft Teams call interacting with this deepfake version of myself in realtime. Ordinarily the other person on the line looks nothing like me, but by using a gaming laptop and a sought-after, cutting edge piece of software for scammers, his face morphed into mine. My deepfake pinched his cheek, covered his nose, and stroked his chin, all without the illusion breaking.

Sign up for free access to this post

Free members get access to posts like this one along with an email round-up of our week's stories.
Subscribe