There will be victims of deepfake job interviews. Most job seekers don't prepare adequately for job interviews, and even worse, they often don't know what to expect. The lines are less blurred between the deepfake videos of last and the ones where technology enables anyone to create videos of seemingly real conversations between two people. The mouths and actions are entirely in sync.

Similarly, AI chatbots can hold conversations to a certain extent, but when paired with deepfake video and AI voice technology, communication becomes even more seamless in delivery.

Let's discuss how to spot them in real-time, and I'll offer some safety measures.

1. AI-generated looks so real

I bet you haven't seen Google's VEO 3. I provide an example to demonstrate how the AI-generated characters' lip movements perfectly synced with their facial expressions and voice inflections. Open-source deepfake videos are available to the public, allowing users to create fictional characters and scenarios similar to those found in movies.

Have you visited your credit card company and used their AI-powered chatbot yet? They can respond to inquiries, answer questions, and provide follow-up information as needed. These are available to anyone.

These open-source tool designs are simplified, allowing anyone without technical experience to create content, products, and services to enhance their quality of life, holistic learning and development, or personal purposes. All of them can run on your laptop or mobile phone.

Anatomy of a Deepfake Interview Scam

Bad actors desire to move quickly to get your personal information. Unfortunately, trusting victims don't see anything wrong until it's too late. Here’s an important reminder of how thorough you should be: Get clear on what kind of interview you should expect. Will you be on Zoom or another platform? Is it a panel interview or with one person? Is that person the hiring manager or an HR professional? What is the name of the person? You have a right to be suspicious of

Fake profile

Bad actors take an aggressive approach using a hijacked or duplicated LinkedIn profile. Hacked long-term unused but real profiles to imitate a recruiter or hiring manager. They bank on you not contacting the company directly or researching the role.

Bad link

The fake hiring manager sends a link to transact outside the platform, to a custom video-interview platform. In some scams, this hiring manager has gotten your personal information. In other cases, they are collecting information and won't ask real job interview questions to identify if you're the right candidate. The link sent was a phishing link. It accesses your computer, whether it's a mobile device or a laptop, and steals personal and financial information. Their links could also install spyware and malware on your device to track your web activity and login.

Live session with a deepfake avatar

There are several layers to this "job interview." First, you receive a link to a bogus Zoom room or Microsoft Teams link. A slightly misspelled URL creates the illusion of being a company-proprietary site. You'll likely face an avatar with an AI-tuned voice with a response that's not human.

They can respond to questions and even know and use your name. Most people sense something is "a little off" after their "interview." There is a script, so if you ask an unusual question, it will throw them off (similar to the AI chatbot).

Stealing your data

The meeting will result in them giving you a "job," but not without an attempt to get your personal and financial information. If you visit one of their suggested sites, you'll need to perform a scan to detect any malware or spyware may be loaded on your device. Any previously recorded audio can be used as a template to train AI models on your voice, which scammers can then use.

How to detect a deepfake

Kerry Tomlinson of Ampex News collects deepfake samples. In this short, she tells me a big part of the psychology of deepfakes is people want to believe they’re real:

Here are some ways to detect and ways they can psych out victims:

* A stolen picture is used as an avatar, only to animate its mouth with audio (likely stolen). It appears to be a still picture with a moving mouth.

* People want to believe the opportunity is real because of anxiety, stress, or depression.

* They cannot perform spontaneous requests, such as hand-to-face movements or a hand wave.

* Lack of facial expressions and voice inflections. The voice sounds like a robot or a machine.

4. Verify the interviewer, the company, and the employees using LinkedIn.

This part can be tricky because fake hiring managers and recruiters will use real profiles to add to the illusion of legitimacy. Most of the time, bad actors use AI-generated bots at scale. They disappear and then reappear as another profile.

Here are several quick checkpoints to verify the information someone gives you:

* Fake email address by using a Gmail, Yahoo, or other vanity email address. The email domain may be a subtly misspelled word.

* Use Google's reverse image search tool to determine if the profile belongs to the owner.

* Check the profile owner's comments to find constantly repeated comments and posts.

* See if they refer people to fake email addresses.

* The fake profile often inflates their follower counts, claiming to have hundreds or thousands of followers, or it may have only one or two followers.

* The profile owner's location is in an unheard-of country.

You can check the company by using whois.com to see the site owner and the launch date. Use this resource to verify the validity of other site checkers.

5. Your quick checklist

Research first

* Google the recruiter’s name + “site:linkedin.com”

* Search the company's careers page for your role

* Check AI LLMs (ChatGPT, Perplexity)

Inspect every link

* Hover over the link

* To reveal the actual URL to look for typos/quasi‑domains

* Check to see if a less familiar company is a business entity

* Do go to the mispelled link. Google link to see if it's flagged.

Confirm via official channels

* Email or call the company's HR address on their website: "Hi, I received an invite from XXX. Is this valid?"

* Go to the company's website directory or Masthead

* Find the company's recruiter to verify the listing

* Check your network for people who work at the company (or find their 2nd connections or ties to ask)

Multi‑factor proof

* Ask for both a calendar invite and a call link through their ATS (Greenhouse, Workday, Lever)

* Ask them to send you a LinkedIn invite

* Be suspicious of scarcely filled-out LinkedIn profiles

* Request additional proof (actual recruiters will go the extra mile to verify their authenticity and credentials).

Limit what you share

* Never submit sensitive documents (SSN, bank info) before an offer letter

* Former federal workers should never share their long-form resume with civilians.

We must train our defenses to verify everyone and everything before responding to a job description or offer. One of the most effective defenses is the ability to apply critical thinking skills throughout the process. Do the research, verify each resource, clarify each obscure point, vet all answers, and provide direct answers to the questions you ask.

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