Deepfakes and Sextortion: Risks and How to Stay Safe

By now, most of us have heard the adage: only post online what you’d be okay with being plastered on a billboard. So many people tirelessly analyze their photos to ensure they not only get the right angle, the right lighting, the right look, but very few take the appropriate steps to protect that image from being used against them.

What if somebody who had access to that photo was able to use them to create images of you doing unspeakable things? What if somebody could trace the pixels of your image over a video of a sexual act? Or even simpler, what if they had access to software that could generate the video for them? Unfortunately, these are not just a hypothetical question, but rather the dark reality we currently face.

It has never been easier to generate fake media than it is today. Even people with limited technical knowledge can create believable content in minutes. With access to a high-quality photo of your face and a few simple clicks, a perpetrator could create a set of images depicting you in a horrible light. They can then use these images, known as deepfakes, as leverage to extort you.

What Are Deepfakes

Deepfakes are digitally-altered pictures or videos that impose a victim’s innocent photos into fake scenarios, often to create explicit content. These manipulate images and videos are frequently used in cybercrimes like sextortion, a form of online blackmail. This has been done in the past with the use of photo and video editing software, but the emergence of AI has turned the once difficult to process into something that is only ever a few clicks away. Technological advance has resulted in content that is both rapidly produced and increasingly difficult to distinguish as fake.

How Has This Issue Grown?

In 2023, there were a total of 95,820 deepfake videos online. This figure is a resounding 550% increase from the total just four years prior in 2019 (1). These videos are nearly always of explicit nature, with a whopping 98% of the deepfake videos found online being in the adult video genre. This should come as no surprise, as one in every three AI deepfake tools allow for the creation of explicit adult content with nearly all of them allowing perpetrators to do so for free.

With the progression of this technology making it quick and easy for people to create such content, the number of deepfake videos is only expected to go up at a steeper incline. There are roughly 42 user-friendly deepfake tools available online, some of which allow for free deepfake generation in under a half hour. This accessibility allows anybody with the right device to create content with minimal user input, resulting in the evident eruption of deepfake content in recent years.

As a result, many cybercriminals have turned to the use of deepfakes as a means of attacking their victims. Crimes such as sextortion that once required the perpetrator to obtain explicit photos of their victim through coercion and catfishing can now be carried out with deepfakes.

How are different countries fighting back

With deepfakes being used for sextortion and various other cybercrimes, countries around the world are beginning to take action to limit the use of these technologies to create explicit content. Following the adoption of the EU AI Act in March 2024, many countries have followed their lead and laid out their own laws mitigating the creation and possession of explicit deepfake content.

United Kingdom

On January 7, the UK announced plans to criminalize creation of sexually explicit deepfake material without the consent of the individuals in the content as part of a forthcoming Crime and Policing bill. Additionally, the bill will make it illegal to take intimate photos without an individuals consent and prohibit the installation of devices that would allow such actions, holding a possible two-year prison sentence for such offenses (2).

Australia

In August 2024, Australia passed the Criminal Code Amendment which strengthened the existing Commonwealth Criminal Code. Under the new bill, individuals who share non-consensual explicit deepfake material can face criminal charges of up to six years in prison. Furthermore, the creators of the content can face aggravated criminal charges holding a seven years sentence (3) .

South Korea

In September 2024, South Korea passed a bill which criminalized the possession or viewing of sexually explicit deepfake content. Individuals convicted of the crime face up to three years in prison or fines of up to 30 million won ($22,600). Previously, it was only illegal to produce such content in South Korea, with penalties including five-year sentences or fines of up to 50 million won ($38,109). The new bill expands upon the previously existing laws by criminalizing any access of this media and expanding the possible sentence for its creation up to seven years (4) .

China

In January 2023, China enacted new legislature that prohibits the creation of non-consensual deepfake material. Furthermore, the law requires any deepfake material produced within the country to come with a specific disclaimer. The Chinese government reserves the right to prosecute offenders who do not adhere to these requirements (5).

United States

While no current federal law is in place to regulate deepfakes in the US, many states have taken the initiative to govern the medium. These primarily focus on deepfake videos of sexually explicit nature or pertaining to political figures. States such as Texas, California, New York, and Virgina have all passed laws constricting the production of deepfake content.

In 2019, the DEEP FAKES Accountability Act was introduced at the federal level. If passed, the bill would require deepfake creators to comply with disclosure and watermark requirements and prevents the production of such material intended to harm or deceive. Furthermore, the bill would establish a taskforce within Homeland Security responsible for analyzing and mitigating the impact of deepfakes (6).

Is this enough?

While the actions taken by legal bodies listed above are a step in the right direction, these laws could still afford to be expanded upon. Tech companies are beginning to take accountability for the ramifications of their products, but continued passing of legislature that cracks down on deepfakes is needed.

Steps You Can Take to Prevent This from Happening to You

Be safe online – Be conscious of what you are posting on the internet and utilize the privacy settings of the platforms you use. Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know.
Look out for unknown sharing – Once you post a photo on the internet, it’s out of your hands. Performing reverse image searches of your own photos and regularly monitoring search results for your identity can help find and report unwanted content online.
Be wary of catfishing – You might not be the victim within the deepfake content, but you can still be harmed by it. Perform reverse image searches of content you are sent or profile picture of people you come across online that you do not know to avoid fraud.

Steps for Victims Threatened with Deepfake Content

Report the content – If you find a deepfake of yourself online, report it to the system administrator of the platform. This can get the content taken down and the account that posted it banned.
Collect evidence – If you are being sextorted or facing another form of cybercrime through the use of deepfakes, gather evidence of the crime and report it to law enforcement.
Contact the experts – There are resources available to help aid you in confronting the perpetrator. Contacting a digital forensics analyst can help you resolve the matter.

Work with Digital Investigations

At Digital Investigations, we have a team of experts who are ready to help you if you’ve blackmailed through the use of deepfakes. We will tailor our investigation to the needs of your specific case and help relinquish you from the torment of the perpetrator. If you are the victim of deepfake sextortion, reach out to our Sextortion Helpline.

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