Deepfakes, AI, and Scams: Seeing Is No Longer Believing
Author and cybersecurity expert Perry Carpenter explains why your own desire to believe is a scammer’s greatest asset.
Episode 44: What if the person on your screen isn't real? Perry Carpenter joins Erin West to break down how deepfakes, AI-generated voice cloning, and synthetic media have become the scammer’s most powerful weapons.
The author of Faik: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deception, Perry doesn’t pull punches. In this episode, he live-demos deepfake face-swapping technology that costs $60 and installs like any app, explains why deepfake detection software is always one step behind, and reveals how scam operations run Telegram channels where criminals share tips, troubleshoot their tech, and celebrate their “sales goals.”
Erin and Perry also dig into the psychology that makes victims so vulnerable — and what regular people can do right now to stay grounded in a world where reality is increasingly malleable.
You'll learn:
How cheaply and easily deepfake face and voice tech is available to scammers today
Why confirmation bias is more dangerous than the technology itself
The difference between AI, deepfakes, and synthetic media — and why it matters
What to tell your family members about verifying what they see online
Why scam compounds operate like legitimate businesses — complete with Telegram support channels
Perry and Erin will both be speaking at SXSW 2026 — catch them live in Austin.
Stolen is hosted by Erin West, a former Santa Clara County prosecutor and founder of Operation Shamrock.
Scroll down for: Guest Bio - Chapters - Useful Links - Sponsors - More Stolen
Who Is Perry Carpenter?
Perry Carpenter is a multi-award-winning author, podcaster, and speaker, with over two decades in cybersecurity focusing on how cybercriminals exploit human behavior. As the Chief Human Risk Management Strategist at KnowBe4, Perry helps build robust human-centric defenses against social-engineering–based threats. His latest book, FAIK: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deceptions (Wiley, Oct 2024), explores AI's role in deception. Perry also hosts the award-winning podcasts 8th Layer Insights and Digital Folklore.
Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Perry Carpenter and His Expertise
05:01 Understanding Deception in the Digital Age
07:39 The Impact of Deepfakes on Society
10:11 AI vs. Deepfakes: Understanding the Difference
12:37 The Blurring Line Between Reality and Deception
15:02 Deepfake Detection Technologies
17:49 The Psychology of Belief in Digital Interactions
19:31 The Accessibility of Scamming Technologies
22:12 The Evolving Scam Economy
24:41 Voice Changing Technologies and Their Implications
29:33 Voice Cloning and AI Technology
35:28 Deepfakes and Fraudulent Job Applications
38:28 Understanding Scams and Emotional Responses
44:35 Navigating Online Disinformation and Skepticism
Useful Links
Subscribe to Stolen for straight truth, survivor-centered storytelling, and bold conversations about the scamdemic and the people fighting back. Find Stolen on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major podcast platforms.
Sponsors of Stolen
BioCatch prevents financial crime by recognizing patterns in human behavior, continuously collecting 3,000 anonymized data points – keystroke and mouse activity, touch screen behavior, physical device attributes, and more – as people interact with their digital banking platforms. With these inputs, BioCatch's models reveal patterns that distinguish the criminal from the legitimate.
Scamnetic is a leader in AI-powered scam detection and prevention, protecting individuals, businesses, and financial institutions from digital scams. With solutions like KnowScam and IDeveryone, Scamnetic delivers real-time scam insights, identity verification, and intervention. Restoring trust, reducing losses, and empowering organizations to safeguard customers in an increasingly complex digital world.
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