Verification through selfie authentication is common in today's age. Government agencies, telecom companies, banking and financial institutions use it to verify your identity and protect your account. In this process, customers are asked to take a selfie on their smartphone. Often during the live video, questions and answers are also asked along with showing the documents. Selfie verification saves people a lot of time. People can do live verification at home.
However, as easy and convenient as it is, it can also be dangerous. Cybercriminals can also use your selfies to steal personal and financial information and drain your bank account.
So, today In work news We will talk about what is Selfie Identification Fraud? You will also learn that-
- How do cybercriminals make people their victims through these scams?
- How to avoid selfie authentication fraud?
Expert: Pawan Duggal, Cyber Security and AI Expert, New Delhi
Question- Selfie Authentication what is Answer- Verification by Selfie is a secure feature that allows users to digitally verify their identity by capturing their photo live. It asks users to look in different directions, turn their head, or make certain facial expressions. In Selfie Verification, users can verify their identity at home in just a few seconds.
For example, earlier pensioners had to visit the government pension office every year to deposit their life certificate. But to make it easier, Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has provided face authentication based digital life proof submission facility. Through this pensioners can submit Live Life Certificate at home by installing two apps 'Aadhaar Face RD' and 'Jiwan Pravan' on their smartphones. Elderly and physically challenged people have benefited a lot from this facility.
Q- What is selfie spoofing? Answer- Selfie spoofing is a cybercrime, in which cybercriminals use your selfie to steal your identity and attempt to access your personal and financial accounts. In this, cyber criminals make some changes in your selfie with the help of AI.
Question- How can fraud be done in the name of selfie authentication? Answer- Cyber security and AI expert Pawan Duggal says that in this era of artificial intelligence (AI), anyone can deepfake a photo or video. To steal your selfie, cybercriminals first send a link via e-mail or message. By clicking on this link your phone gets hacked. After this, the complete control of the phone falls into the hands of cyber criminals. With this, cyber criminals can steal your personal photos, videos or your financial information from the photo gallery.
Understand this from the following graphic.
Q- How can a selfie be misused with the help of deepfake? Answer- Deepfake is a technology that can create a photo or video of any person. AI expert Pawan Duggal says, Deepfake technology today has advanced to such an extent that a deepfake video can be created from a person's photo and a voice can be cloned from just three or four seconds of audio. Through AI, cybercriminals can even copy someone's voice, photo or facial expression during a call or virtual meeting. These are so specific that it is not possible for everyone to recognize them. This can lead to such risks. such as- Identity Theft: Cybercriminals can use selfies to steal your identity, leaving others vulnerable to theft attacks or phishing. Creating fake videos: Fake videos can be created from your selfies using deepfake technology, which can be used to damage your image. Creating a Fake Account on Social Media: By using selfies, cybercriminals can create your fake social media account, through which they can swindle money from your friends and acquaintances. Financial Fraud: Through deepfake technology, cybercriminals can take out loans and credit cards in your name through a selfie.
Q- What are the precautions to avoid selfie authentication fraud? Answer- Scammers use several methods to perform selfie authentication scams. For this they use many such fake apps, which claim to provide selfie authentication or photo beautification. To avoid this scam, keep these things in mind given in the graphic below.
Q- What to do if you fall victim to a selfie scam? Answer- If you fall victim to a selfie scam, the first thing to do is change the passwords of all your social media accounts and online payment apps. Also make social media accounts private. Freeze your bank accounts immediately. Apart from this, contact the nearest police station or cybercrime helpline number 1930.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
