deepfake

AI startup Tavus released a new model called Griffin on October 1, referring to it as the first "human interaction model" that can understand and generate face-to-face conversations, paying attention not only to wording but also to expressions and pauses. Tavus stated that in tests, after a one-minute video call with Griffin-Lite, 26 out of 54 participants (48%) believed the other party was a real person; its previous generation system only convinced 1 out of 41 participants.Participants were told they would have a one-minute video call with another person to discuss things they were looking forward to this year, and only at the end of the call were they asked if they suspected the other party was not a real person. Tavus noted that those who became suspicious typically noticed within 20 seconds. This result comes from Tavus's own research page, where participants were recruited through a channel they call an independent research platform. Community comments on X pointed out that these results have not been independently verified and do not meet standard protocols.In the NVIDIA VideoFDB benchmark, Tavus claimed Griffin-Lite ranked first, with a generation dimension score of 3.83, the next best system scoring 2.8, and human reference scoring 3.92; the perception dimension score was 3.73, with the strongest baseline at 3.44 and human reference at 4.2. Tavus stated that NVIDIA independently conducted this evaluation. Griffin supports full duplex, allowing it to listen, see, and speak simultaneously, with an average audio-video delay of 0.43 seconds on the NVIDIA H100 chip. Tavus completed a $40 million Series B funding round led by CRV in November 2025.

New York state officials warn that AI-generated content and fake cryptocurrency projects are making investment scams more deceptive. Investment scam losses exceed $8 billion, a 38% increase from 2024, with 144,041 consumers reporting losses, and the median loss per incident is $10,560. AI can be used to clone voices, forge videos, impersonate financial professionals, and create social media advertisements.New York Attorney General Letitia James has warned that scammers attract investors through deepfake endorsements of celebrities, fake cryptocurrencies, pump-and-dump schemes, and fraudulent trading platforms. Some fake platforms display forged account balances, earnings, and transaction records, allowing victims to withdraw small amounts to build trust, and then request additional funds or fees. New York state officials advise consumers to verify the identity of promoters, companies, and investment projects, and confirm the destination of funds. According to the FBI, reported losses from cybercrime amount to $20.877 billion, with complaints involving cryptocurrency losses totaling $11.37 billion. Common signs of scams include promises of high returns, unsolicited investment opportunities, high-pressure sales tactics, and projects lacking clear documentation.

According to Bitcoin.com, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) disclosed that in the fiscal year 2026, over 19,400 online scams were removed (a year-on-year increase of 182%), among which cryptocurrency investment scam platforms reached 3,106, an increase of about 30% compared to the previous fiscal year.ASIC pointed out that scam groups are heavily leveraging generative AI technology to build a systematic fraud ecosystem: by using deepfake videos of well-known figures such as Australian Prime Minister Albanese and financial commentators to promote fake cryptocurrency trading robots, while simultaneously creating counterfeit media websites, AI-generated comments, and fake profit dashboards to lure victims into continuously increasing their investments, with funds ultimately flowing to overseas criminal groups. Just from the impersonation of high-profile individuals alone, the related losses have exceeded 7.4 million Australian dollars.

According to CertiK's latest report, losses from cryptocurrency ATM scams in the U.S. will reach $333 million by 2025, with the FBI receiving over 12,000 complaints, a 33% increase year-on-year. CertiK points out that cryptocurrency ATMs can convert cash into cryptocurrency within 5 minutes, and the identity verification requirements are extremely low, making them the least frictional channel for scammers to withdraw funds.Among the victims, 86% are seniors aged 60 and above, primarily due to their liquid savings, lack of knowledge about cryptocurrency, and social isolation. The main scam tactics include pig butchering investment scams, government impersonation, tech support scams, grandparent scams, and fake debt collection services.The involvement of AI technology has made the situation even more severe. By 2025, AI-driven social engineering scams are expected to yield 4.5 times the profits of traditional methods, and real-time deepfake technology has been systematically integrated into scam operations. Transnational criminal organizations also operate with a corporate division of labor model, significantly increasing the difficulty of law enforcement tracking.

Hacker groups associated with North Korea are continuously upgrading their attack methods against individuals in the cryptocurrency industry. They are using AI-generated deepfake video calls to impersonate people familiar to or trusted by the victims, enticing them to install malware.Martin Kuchař, co-founder of BTC Prague, revealed that attackers initiate video calls using compromised Telegram accounts and lure victims into installing malicious software disguised as a plugin under the pretext of "fixing Zoom audio issues," thereby gaining complete control over the devices. Security research firm Huntress pointed out that this attack pattern is highly consistent with previous disclosures regarding actions against cryptocurrency developers. The malicious scripts can execute multi-stage infections on macOS devices, including implanting backdoors, logging keystrokes, stealing clipboard content, and accessing cryptocurrency wallet assets.Researchers have strongly attributed this series of attacks to the North Korean state-sponsored hacker group Lazarus Group (also known as BlueNoroff). The information security head of blockchain security company SlowMist stated that such attacks exhibit clear reuse characteristics across different operations, targeting specific wallets and cryptocurrency professionals. Analysts believe that as deepfake and voice cloning technologies become more widespread, images and videos are increasingly difficult to serve as reliable evidence of identity authenticity. The cryptocurrency industry needs to remain vigilant and strengthen multi-factor authentication and security measures.

ChainCatcher news, according to Protos, scammers are using AI tools to steal cryptocurrency through deepfakes and wallet drainers. Decentralized finance (DeFi) developer Joey Santoro stated that a friend of his recently lost $2 million in a complex deepfake scam.The scammers used an audio deepfake of stablecoin blockchain founder Paul Faecks to pitch a consulting position to Santoro's friend and lured the victim into opening a file during the call, thereby obtaining their password and private keys. Santoro warned users to isolate their cryptocurrency from everyday devices whenever possible.

ChainCatcher news, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) recently posted a warning on social media X that artificial intelligence has been used for new types of deepfake hacking attacks, and even video call verification methods will soon become ineffective.Zhao Changpeng emphasized: "Do not install software from unofficial links, especially those from 'friends', as their accounts may have been hacked."

ChainCatcher news, according to decrypt, U.S. President Trump has signed the bipartisan "Take It Down Act" into law. This legislation classifies the non-consensual online publication of intimate images (including real images or AI-generated images) and deepfake pornographic content as a criminal offense, and requires major tech platforms to remove such content within 48 hours of receiving a notice.First Lady Melania Trump called the legislation a "national victory" for protecting children from online exploitation. Victims of deepfakes and revenge porn will now be protected under U.S. federal law.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the FBI warned on May 15 that hackers have been using deepfake voice and SMS to impersonate senior U.S. officials since April, launching phishing attacks against current and former federal and state officials to steal sensitive data. If an official's account is compromised, hackers can use the obtained trusted information to expand their attack scope.At the same time, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal also warned that hackers are using deepfake videos to scam users into installing malicious scripts. He stated that the attack methods are shocking, and several people have already been deceived.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong stated that deepfake videos are spreading online, which are being used to promote cryptocurrency, money-making schemes, and permanent residency application services.Wong posted on Facebook and X platforms that he has seen some of these online videos and urged the public to remain vigilant, not to respond to such scams, or share personal information.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, data analytics company Inca Digital released an investigation report stating that one or more scammers used AI deepfake technology to hide their identities during video calls, successfully defrauding at least $5.6 million by selling fake FTX bankruptcy claims.It is reported that the scammers presented real claim data and forged proof of address in Singapore, with the victims including at least two unnamed companies. Inca Digital CEO Adam Zarazinski stated that the involved funds have been laundered through non-U.S. exchanges, including Binance.

ChainCatcher news, Central African Republic President Touadéra announced the issuance of the official meme coin CAR on the X platform this morning, calling it an "experiment" to promote national development. However, the announcement video has been flagged as suspicious by two AI deepfake detection tools. According to GMGN market data, CAR's market capitalization has now surpassed $700 million.The authenticity of the project is being questioned by multiple parties. Two detection models from the AI deepfake detection platform Deepware indicate that the president's video statement is highly suspicious, with one model suggesting an 82% likelihood that the video is a deepfake.Yokai Ryujin, founder of Unrevealed XYZ, pointed out that the project domain name was registered only three days ago through Namecheap, and the registration method does not comply with government operational norms. The domain service provider Namecheap has suspended related services, but the project website is still operational.Additionally, industry insiders question the timing of the announcement at local midnight and the use of English instead of the official language, French, for the announcement. Currently, the project's official X account @Carmeme_news has been banned by the platform.

ChainCatcher news, according to Phoenix News, the Hong Kong police recently dismantled a scam group that used deepfake technology to lure others into investing in virtual currencies through social media platforms, involving approximately 34 million HKD.The Hong Kong Police Commercial Crime Bureau arrested 31 individuals, aged between 20 and 34, some of whom claimed to be students and unemployed, based on intelligence last week in two industrial buildings in Kowloon Bay, related to the same scam group, and seized their pre-written "scripts." The group would recruit young people looking to "make quick money," training them to create accounts on dating platforms with fake identities, pretending to have good looks and a luxurious lifestyle, and getting to know individuals from overseas, including Taiwan and East Asia, chatting according to the "script." After understanding the other party's background, they would cater to their interests and develop into online lovers, even using deepfake technology for video calls, subsequently luring the other party to invest in virtual currencies, claiming substantial returns, and asking them to deposit into fake platforms. Once the group received the virtual currency, they would immediately transfer it away and cut off contact with the victims.Hong Kong Police Commercial Crime Bureau Acting Chief Superintendent Kong Hing-fun stated: "They rented two scam centers located next to each other in Kowloon Bay to disperse risks and increase confidentiality. Most importantly, we noticed that these two scam centers operated in two shifts, aiming to continuously attract more victims day and night. Never think that participating in some tasks of a criminal group is just a minor issue; even if you are only assigned to meet victims online without direct contact with virtual currency investment work, it is still illegal."The police stated that this scam group has been operating for at least a year, with criminal profits exceeding 34 million HKD. The mastermind of the scam group, the center's head, and key members, a total of five individuals, have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering, and were brought to the Eastern Magistrates' Court on Monday.

ChainCatcher news, the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) temporarily suspended the financial services provider license of the cryptocurrency trading platform Banxso on Wednesday, citing concerns that its marketing practices promised clients unrealistic returns.There were previous allegations that Banxso used deepfake techniques in its advertising and employed aggressive sales tactics to pressure clients into investing without proper risk assessment.

ChainCatcher message, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao posted on X platform: "There are deepfake videos of me on other social media platforms. Please be cautious of scams."

ChainCatcher news, the decentralized AI data liquidity network Vana announces an important upgrade to the TG App, allowing users to participate in building a deepfake detection dataset to earn points. Additionally, the App has launched a new DataDAO pre-mining feature.According to the RootData page, Vana is an AI identity generation application that allows users to create a digital persona, which can be used across different applications. This digital persona is private and can only be controlled by the user who created it and their authorized accounts. Vana completed a $5 million strategic financing round on September 18, led by Coinbase Ventures. To date, Vana's total financing has reached $25 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea will investigate the negligence of Telegram suspected of deep forgery.

ChainCatcher message, Zhu Su posted on platform X stating, "I believe one of the most controversial gender issues will revolve around the use of AI to generate deepfake pornographic content. While there are already laws regarding non-consensual deepfake pornographic content, the AI production of such content may surge due to the difficulty in regulating any type of AI content."