The Face You're Watching Isn't Real, and Neither Is That Investment Tip

If a machine can perfectly fake a face, a voice, and a moment that never happened, what's actually left that you can call proof?

I want to start today with a confession. Last week, I watched a video of a very famous billionaire telling me exactly how to triple my retirement savings in just 30 days. We live in a world where the most powerful technology ever built is being handed to you without instructions, without warnings, and without anyone asking whether it serves you or uses you.

That question is at the heart of the Virtuous Machine. I'm Michael Ruthier, and this is Tech for Grownups, the show that believes technology should answer to human beings, not the other way around. This is the show the tech industry doesn't want you to hear. No corporate talking points, no sponsored opinions, just honest conversation. Let's go.

So here's what no one tells you about deepfake scams in 2026. They are not some rare high-tech curiosity anymore. Researchers now describe deepfake fraud as happening on an industrial scale, and I mean that literally, like a factory, except instead of making sneakers, it's making fake versions of your favorite celebrity telling you to invest in crypto.

One study found this content can be produced by, and I'm quoting here, "pretty much anybody." You don't need a Hollywood studio anymore. All you need, and this is going to shock you, all you need is a laptop, some free software, and the moral compass of a raccoon in a dumpster.

Now here's the part that should genuinely concern you. Just this past week, CTV News ran a segment specifically warning that AI-powered scam videos circulating on social media are getting harder and harder to spot, even for people who know exactly what they're looking for. Let that sink in. It's not just your uncle who forwards you chain emails who's at risk anymore. It's everybody. Fake investment pitches, fake doctors selling miracle skincare, fake financial advisors, all generated by AI, all looking disturbingly real.

So here's my first question for you. If you can no longer trust your own eyes to tell you what's real, what exactly are you supposed to trust instead?

What's Actually Happening in the US Right Now

Let's start close to home. Tech news outlets have documented an entire wave of scam operations weaponizing this exact technology, from fake job interviews to fraudulent tech support calls, all supercharged by AI. And it's not theoretical money. In Clallam County, Washington, four residents were conned out of more than 673,000 dollars in just three days, according to the county sheriff's office, with victims tricked into purchasing Apple gift cards for a scammer posing as tech support.

That is less time than it takes some of you to finish a season of your favorite show.

Here's Where It Gets Interesting for Our Listeners Across the Pond

The European Union, which has positioned itself as the world's toughest regulator of AI, agreed back in May of this year to actually loosen parts of its landmark AI Act, delaying enforcement of high-risk AI rules, originally due in August 2026, now pushed back to December 2027 for stand-alone systems and August 2028 for embedded AI tools. That delay happened while the threat on the ground kept accelerating.

They did add one meaningful protection though; a ban on nudifier apps and non-consensual deepfake imagery, including AI-generated child sexual abuse material, with violations carrying fines of up to 35 million euros or 7 percent of global turnover. That ban was championed partly in response to AI-generated intimate images of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni circulating online earlier this year. So I'm going to give credit where it's due. But if you live in Brussels, Berlin, or Dublin, and you're wondering whether your government has this handled, the honest answer right now is partially, and slower than the scammers are moving. And that's concerning.

Then There's Asia, Where This Scam Economy Has Scaled the Fastest

Researchers tracking this industry describe AI-powered scam centres, largely operating out of Southeast Asia, using deepfakes and voice cloning to run fraud operations now measured in the tens of billions of dollars, with Interpol officials confirming deepfake-related fraud incidents surged more than 1,500 percent between 2022 and 2023, hitting Vietnam and the Philippines especially hard. Separate data from fintech security firm Sumsub found Singapore alone saw that same 1,500 percent surge, while Hong Kong saw an even steeper 1,900 percent increase.

1,500 percent. That is not a trend. That's a rocket ship, and none of us bought a ticket.

What's Actually Left That You Can Call Proof

Marcus Aurelius once wrote that we suffer more in imagination than in reality. I think about that line differently after researching this episode, because now the imagination isn't even yours. It's being manufactured for you, frame by frame, voice sample by voice sample, and sold to you as the truth.

So here's my second question for you. If a machine can perfectly fake a face, a voice, and a moment that never happened, what's actually left that you can call proof? I don't think that question has a comfortable answer, but I do think it's the right one to be asking, whether you're in Toronto, Tokyo, or even Taipei.

What You Can Actually Do About It

So here's what I'm asking you to do, because fear without action is just noise.

• Slow down before you act on anything urgent. Scammers manufacture urgency because panic short-circuits scrutiny, and that's a documented psychological fact

• Verify through a second channel. If it's your bank or your grandson, hang up and call the number you already have saved for them, not the one they gave you

• Talk about this loudly with the people in your life, especially anyone who might be an easier target than you

This is Tech for Grownups. I'm not here to scare you. I'm here to make sure you're the one asking the questions instead of just absorbing whatever shows up on your screen looking convincing. Now stay sharp, stay loud, and I will see you next week.

The Question That Started This Whole Show

Marcus Aurelius asked a question that I think about every time I sit down to record this show. What is it fundamentally that this thing is for? Not what it claims to be for. What is it actually for? That's the Virtuous Machine question, and it applies to every piece of technology being built right now, the AI, the algorithms, the platforms, all of it.

You'll find everything from today's episode at techforgrownups.com. Join the conversation in the community, the link is there. Stay sharp, stay loud, and I'll see you in the next one.

➡️ Related: [They Don't Need to Hack Your Bank. They Just Need You to Show Them Your Screen] 

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Michael Routhier is the founder of Tech 4 Grown-Ups, providing honest, unfiltered digital literacy for adults 55+, and host of The Virtuous Machine, exploring the ethics and human cost of AI. Read by tech-curious readers in 50+ countries. Explore more at tech4grownups.com.