AI Scams: How to Spot Deepfake Videos and Voice-Clone Calls

By the PH Trend Watch team · Updated October 29, 2026

Short answer: AI can now fake a person's face and voice convincingly. Be suspicious of any urgent request for money — even from a familiar voice or a famous face — and verify it through another channel before acting. A family "safe word" stops most voice-clone scams.

Deepfake videos

Scammers use AI-made videos of celebrities, officials or news anchors to promote fake investments, miracle products or giveaways. Warning signs:

A famous person suddenly promoting a "guaranteed" investment or crypto scheme.
Lips slightly out of sync, odd blinking, blurry edges around the face, or a voice that sounds flat.
The video appears only in ads or unknown pages, not on the person's official accounts.

Voice-clone calls

A few seconds of someone's voice from social media is enough to clone it. Scammers call pretending to be a child, parent or boss in trouble — an accident, an arrest, a hospital bill — and ask for money right away.

Hang up and call back on the number you already have for that person.
Ask a question only the real person would know.
Be wary of pressure, secrecy ("don't tell anyone") and unusual payment methods.

Make a family safe word

Agree on a word or phrase that your family will use in a real emergency. If a caller can't say it, it isn't them. Keep it private and never post it online.

Protect your own voice and face

Keep social media accounts private where you can, and limit public videos of children.
Be careful with "fun" apps that ask for many photos or voice recordings.

Report it

Report scam videos and accounts on the platform where you saw them. If you lost money, contact your bank or e-wallet immediately and report to the CICC hotline 1326 or the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group. More tips are in our e-wallet and text scams guide.

General safety information.