How can I tell if a voice is a deepfake?

Often you can't. Treat urgency, secrecy and changed payment details as the warning signs, and verify through a channel you already trust.

Are deepfakes illegal?

It depends on the use and the place. Fraud is illegal however it is done, and many laws and platform rules restrict using someone's likeness without consent.

What should I do if I get a suspicious voice message?

Don't act on it. Call the person back on a number you already have, and tell whoever handles security.

What is a deepfake?

AI basics AI glossary

Quick answer

A deepfake is audio, video or an image made or changed with AI so that it looks or sounds like a real person saying or doing something they never did. In offices the common threat is a cloned voice or fake video call from a boss or vendor asking for an urgent payment or bank change.

Last updated October 20, 2026

Take the free module →Module 4 of the free AI Security for Small Business course, about 7 minutes. No account needed.

Updated October 20, 2026 · By Robert Breen

Why it matters for a small business

Voice cloning now needs only a short recording, and a convincing fake can be paired with a well-written email. Spotting fakes by ear or eye is unreliable, so the protection has to be a process: verify through a channel you already trust, and require a second approver for money moves.

Deepfakes are also a reputational and legal issue. Using a real person's likeness without consent can break platform rules and laws, and the EU AI Act requires deepfakes to be disclosed as AI-generated. Don't put staff or customers in AI images or voices without asking.

In a real lesson: Stop a Fake Vendor Bank-Change Request Before You Pay using Claude

In Stop a Fake Vendor Bank-Change Request, Priya at Harbor & Pine Bookkeeping gets an email from Northgate Paper Supply asking her to pay invoice 8812, $6,420.00, to a new account today, plus a voicemail that sounds like her boss, Mike.

In the real test, Claude listed the corroborating voicemail as a red flag, because two channels pushing the same request is a tactic and voices are easy to fake or clone. The lesson's three rules work whether or not the voice is real: call back on a number you already have, get a second approver, and slow down when it's urgent.

Try this lesson free or read the step-by-step guide.

Common confusions

Deepfake vs voice cloning

Voice cloning is the technique of copying a voice. A deepfake is the fake result, which can be voice, video or images.

Deepfake vs AI-generated image

Most AI images are new pictures. A deepfake specifically imitates a real, identifiable person.

Tips

Never approve a payment based on a voice or video alone.
Call back on a number from your own records.
Agree a code word or second-approver rule for urgent money requests.

Voice cloning Phishing Approval threshold AI watermarking Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

More AI basics terms

Diffusion model Embeddings Explainable AI (XAI)Fine-tuning

Where you use it: free lessons

Stop a Fake Vendor Bank-Change Request Before You Pay using Claude (Claude, 7 min)
Make Images with ChatGPT for Your Business (ChatGPT, 7 min)

Frequently asked questions

How can I tell if a voice is a deepfake?: Often you can't. Treat urgency, secrecy and changed payment details as the warning signs, and verify through a channel you already trust.
Are deepfakes illegal?: It depends on the use and the place. Fraud is illegal however it is done, and many laws and platform rules restrict using someone's likeness without consent.
What should I do if I get a suspicious voice message?: Don't act on it. Call the person back on a number you already have, and tell whoever handles security.

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