I just received this endorsement from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
It’s the Terminator saying I’m a good guy. Amazing and, awww, thanks Arnie.
Thing is, it’s fake.
It’s not Arnold Schwarzenegger at all. It’s a deep fake.
What amazes me is how real it looks – and yes, I will use it in my future presentations – but it’s a computer generated Arnold. It’s not real.
In fact, I recently posted this endorsement from Alice Cooper …
And this one is real. It is the real Alice Cooper, the legend, the rock star, the man. Or is it?
What is real and what is fake? Can you tell the difference between real news and fake news? Do you feel confident you know what is true and not true?
The UK TV broadcast channel explored this over Christmas with a deepfake of the Queen's speech. Watch it and laugh, cry and weep ...
Our world today is fascinating, as technology enables us to create fake everything. Fake love, fake relationships, fake money, fake life, fake reality ... oh yes, and fake news.
Maybe we really do live in The Matrix.
You want to know my view?
My view is that you will get suckered by fake news and fake contact. My view is that you will receive an email you think is fake, but then you get another one you think is true. My view is that you will get compromised. My view is that you will get fooled.
Therefore, the only thing we can do is not trust anything online. Don’t trust the news, don’t trust the views, don’t trust the reviews, don’t trust anything. Don’t trust the email, don’t trust the text, don’t trust the message, don’t trust the ping. DON’T TRUST ANYTHING.
This is important.
It’s not so important when it came to fake news and fake views, but it’s important when it comes to your money. When it comes to your money, that fake email about account confirmation is important.
The fact is that if your account is compromised by a fake email or fake news, it’s your fault. It’s not the bank’s fault. It’s your fault. Your money is lost. Your account sign-in is lost. Your identity is lost. Your life is lost. And it’s your fault.
When you invest in online currencies, it feels great ... until you forget your password and there's no call centre to help you out.
You must be aware and alert at all times to what’s going on. In fact, it’s interesting that this is not just a personal thing. It’s a corporate thing. It was interesting to watch the BEC (Business Email Compromise) scam rising. We are all so easily duped and that's the criminal thing: use our trust to scam us. We are all too trusting and hackers, scammers and criminals use that to dupe us. Every time I've hosted a meeting about bank security and hacking, someone has walked on stage and said: the easiest way to get access to a banks' systems is to use social engineering. In other words, abuse our trust.
Bottom-line is that every fraud, hack and compromise I’ve ever seen is not due to technology. It’s due to the individual who was suckered, fooled, scammed and stupid.
Don’t be that person.
Oh, and this is a fake blog …
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
