Genuine concern is mounting in China over AI-generated deepfakes which have been successfully used to defraud innocent people out of, in some cases, millions of renminbi, in literally seconds. A case in Nanjing has brought the threat worryingly close to home.
中国对人工智能生成的深度伪造品的真正担忧与日俱增，这些伪造品已被成功用于在几秒钟内骗取无辜民众，在某些情况下，骗取数百万人民币。南京发生的一起案件让这种威胁触手可及。
The headlines in Chinese media of late have read, “China’s AI Deepfake Fraud is Rampant; Anhui Man Loses ¥2.45 Million in 9 Seconds”. For us, the red flag is the word, Anhui, given it is less than an hour’s drive from Nanjing.
最近中国媒体的头条新闻是“中国AI Deepfake欺诈猖獗，安徽男子9秒损失245万元”。对我们来说，危险信号就是安徽这个词，因为它距离南京不到一个小时的车程。
Those reports were by way of a follow up to an earlier case whereby a Fujian businessman was defrauded the sum of ¥4.3 million in 10 minutes, also by way of the use of deepfakes.
这些报道是之前一起案例的后续报道，该案例中一名福建商人在 10 分钟内被骗了 430 万元人民币，同样是通过深度造假的方式。
Furthermore, and much closer to home, there was also a scenario in Nanjing where a woman was conned out of ¥3,000. The swindler used a deepfake generator on their mobile phone to make a video call pretending to be the victim’s friend. While the victim did try to check the other party’s identity, she was still deceived in the end.
此外，离家较近的地方，南京也发生过一名女子被骗去3000元的场景。骗子使用手机上的深度伪造生成器冒充受害者的朋友进行视频通话。虽然受害人确实尝试核实对方身份，但最终还是被骗了。
So, away from the deepfake technology, how do they do it?
那么，除了 Deepfake 技术之外，他们是如何做到的呢？
Official media in Anhui reported that on 27 April, a Mr. He received a video call from an acquaintance requesting help in transferring a sum of money.
安徽官方媒体报道称，4月27日，何先生接到熟人打来的视频电话，请求帮忙转一笔钱。
The acquaintance, which was later found to be a fraudster employing deepfake-generating technology, told Mr. He there was currently a project looking for bids in need of working capital. Could Mr. He advance the payment first?
这位熟人后来被发现是一个利用 Deepfake 生成技术的诈骗者，他告诉何先生，目前有一个项目正在寻找需要流动资金的投标。何先生可以先预付款吗？
It is easy with hindsight to say he was foolish, but Mr. He did not hesitate, immediately asking his family to transfer ¥2.45 million to the account designated by the other party, as The World Journal has reported.
据《世界日报》报道，事后看来，很容易说他很愚蠢，但何先生毫不犹豫，立即要求家人将245万元转入对方指定的账户。
Alert readers will recognise the similarities with that thought to be the world’s first such case of deepfake skulduggery, dating from 2019.
细心的读者会发现这与 2019 年发生的世界上首例此类深度造假案件有相似之处。
That was when the CEO of an UK-based energy firm was tricked into thinking he was in a call with the CEO of their German parent company. As per Forbes at the time, thanks to the convincing subtleties in the deepfake’s German accent that were an absolute match, the UK boss thought nothing of the request to transfer US$243,000.
就在那时，一家英国能源公司的首席执行官被欺骗，误以为他正在与其德国母公司的首席执行官通话。据《福布斯》当时报道，由于 Deepfake 的德国口音令人信服、微妙且绝对匹配，英国老板对转账 243,000 美元的请求毫不在意。
Back in China in the here and now, the modus operandi was much the same in the case of the Fujian businessman, while the woman in Nanjing had simply been conned by a deepfake pretending to be a friend in need of a little temporary cash.
回到中国，此时此地，福建商人的作案手法大致相同，而南京女子只是被一个假装是需要一点临时现金的朋友的深度假货所欺骗。
We’ve all been there, which is why we need be increasingly vigilant these days.
我们都经历过这样的情况，这就是为什么我们现在需要越来越警惕。
The message is simple. Don’t agree to hand over large sums during any kind of exchange involving the internet, without the relevant background checks. Meet them in person. And use a briefcase. Just like back in the good old days.
消息很简单。在没有相关背景调查的情况下，不要同意在任何涉及互联网的交易中交出大笔资金。亲自与他们见面。并使用公文包。就像回到过去的美好时光一样。
