A familiar family voice or a video of a manager is insufficient to authorize a transfer. Deepfakes can imitate identities, while urgency, secrecy, and claims that only you can help discourage verification. Pause payment or disclosure and contact the person through a number or channel you already know. Do not use a new contact supplied by the caller as the sole verification route, even if the video looks convincing.
What to have ready
Before you start
PCPD's fraud-prevention advice specifically recommends authenticating a doubtful caller through other contact methods. Lip movement, lighting, or visual glitches cannot reliably establish authenticity because technology and call quality vary. A verification process for consequential requests is more useful than trying to classify every clip yourself. Treat an unverified request as unresolved, rather than using a convincing appearance as the deciding piece of evidence.
What to do, step by step
- Step away from the caller's pressure and decide to verify through another channel. You do not need to resolve the request within the same call.
- Use the existing address book or organisation's official page to check whether the person made the request, including the account and stated purpose.
- For company or shared household funds, follow the existing approval process. A video apparently showing the manager is not a reason to bypass it.
- Preserve the original messages and transaction records if fraud is suspected, and contact the payment provider and Police. Do not make another payment to a promised recovery service.
Costs, timing, and things to check
Use Scameter through CyberDefender's official entry point to assess suspicious information. No risk indication is not an identity or transaction guarantee. Fake anti-scam services also exist, so verify the tool itself.
For deepfakes involving children or personal images, avoid redistributing humiliating material as a warning. Preserve necessary evidence, limit circulation, and seek the relevant school, platform, PCPD, or Police support.
A practical example
If a video caller appearing to be your child demands an urgent deposit and says not to call another phone, pause and use the known number or a trusted family contact. Knowing your name and yesterday's plans does not replace independent verification. Agreeing this procedure in advance makes it easier to follow when a request sounds frightening or urgent.
Verify consequential requests through a separate known channel rather than judging only the image or voice.
Official information and enquiries
These are the reference and service entry points for this guide. Check current fees, eligibility, and schedules with the authority. The preparation date is not each source's official update date.