The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning about a dangerous trend in which malicious users are creating deepfake content as part of sextortion attacks, or sexual blackmail.
Sextortion is a form of online sexual blackmail, where perpetrators threaten their targets with the public release of images and videos that they have stolen (through hacking) or obtained (through coercion). Perpetrators typically demand money from victims to keep the inappropriate material from being published.
Most worryingly, in many cases, the inappropriate material isn't even real, with threat actors only pretending to have access to scare victims into paying.
The FBI warns that extortionists are stealing publicly available images of their targets, such as normal photos and videos posted on social media platforms . These images are then processed with deepfake content creation tools that transform them into sexual content .
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Although the images or videos produced are not authentic, they look very real, so attackers can use them to blackmail victims, as sending this material to family, colleagues, and friends could cause victims big problems.
Since April 2023, the FBI has seen an increase in sexual blackmail victims. Many people have reported the use of fake images or videos created from content they had posted on social media or provided to the perpetrators. In some cases, victims were recorded during video chats.
“Based on recent victim complaints, malicious actors typically demanded:
1. Payment (e.g. money, gift cards) with threats to share the images or videos with family members or social media friends
2. The perpetrators asked the victim to send real images or videos of sexual content“
The FBI says that creators of inappropriate content sometimes skip the blackmail part and post deepfake videos directly to pornographic websites, exposing victims without their knowledge or consent.
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In other cases, blackmail comes next. That is, blackmailers upload online and use these public uploads to further pressure victims and demand money.
The FBI reports that this trend has, unfortunately, also affected minors.
How to protect yourself?
Artificial intelligence tools that have the ability to create deepfake videos and generally manipulate images are often available to the general public, creating a dangerous environment for all Internet users.
There are many tools available that can create realistic videos from a single image of the target's face, without requiring additional training or datasets. Many of these tools have built-in protections to prevent misuse, but those sold on "underground forums" and dark web marketplaces do not.
The FBI recommends that parents monitor their children's online activity and constantly talk to them about online dangers
In addition, an online search is also important to determine the extent of children's exposure to the internet and take action to remove potentially inappropriate content.
Adults posting images or videos online should also be careful and limit the viewing of content to a small circle of friends. At the same time, children's faces should always be blurred or covered.
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If you discover deepfake content depicting you on pornographic websites, reach out to the authorities and contact the platform to request removal of the offensive material.
Finally, do not provide money or other valuables to strangers. Complying with the perpetrators' demands does not guarantee that your sensitive photos or content will not be shared.
The UK has recently introduced a law that classifies the non-consensual sharing of deepfakes as a crime. Deepfake videos are a technology that can have serious consequences for our society. It is important to be aware of the problems they can cause and to be careful about what we see and share online.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com
