TruthScan CEO Calls Deepfakes ‘a Nightmare’ For Entrepreneurs

Christian Perry says, “We are seeing a surge in deepfake-related attacks, and what you’re hearing about is just the tip of the iceberg.” Perry is the CEO of TruthScan, an AI-fraud prevention startup that aims to combat AI-enabled cybercrime, such as deepfake attacks.

Is deepfake fraud a big issue? Faces lie, but numbers don’t

Last year, The Guardian reported that Arup, a UK-based engineering firm, lost $25 million after attackers used a deepfake technology to impersonate their CFO during a live Zoom call. These types of attacks aren’t isolated incidents.

The Guardian further reported another incident where hackers tried to impersonate Mark Read, CEO of WPP (one of the largest advertising firms), in a sophisticated deepfake attack. Luckily, WPP staff were able to thwart the attempt before any funds were stolen.

The Wall Street Journal just reported that there is a surge of AI deepfake fraud attacks happening right now, projecting over $200 million in losses in 2024 alone.

Anybody could be targeted. Deepfake scams are hitting the highest levels of organizations, even cybersecurity companies.

Deepfakes are being weaponized in a variety of ways.

“We’ve been researching deepfake technology and obfuscation techniques for three years,” TruthScan CEO Christian Perry explains. “Based on everything we’ve seen and what we see unfolding, I believe AI-generated malicious media is a nightmare for entrepreneurs.”

While Perry agrees that deepfakes could be used to harm ordinary people, he argues that business owners and entrepreneurs are prime targets for a few reasons.

“When you’re a business owner, the most important things you have to protect are your people, your brand, and your finances. Attackers using deepfakes can damage all of those things instantly, whether using high-tech tools or simply the right prompt.”

Perry says that fraudsters using AI-generated deepfakes to impersonate CEOs or executive decision-makers go far beyond elaborate attempts to steal funds from individuals or companies directly.

“Now we’re seeing these fraudsters running AI-generated ads on social media to create fake endorsements of products or investment schemes that are operated by shadowy and often internationally based shell companies,” he explains.

If you’ve built a trustworthy reputation based on transparency, the last thing you’d want is a video of you endorsing an online crypto scam floating around on the internet.

Celebrities like Tom Hanks and Mr Beast have both had their likenesses cloned by AI, and those AI clones were used to promote unsanctioned products on social media platforms like TikTok.

Khuzaeymah Nasir, a data scientist and AI researcher, says blackmail is another terrifying reality of deepfake technology. “During our research, we discovered that deepfake technology is being used to generate and share inapropriate material online, potentially of unwitting victims.”

Beyond causing damage to reputation or creating fake scandals, malicious attackers may use deepfake images to attempt to blackmail individuals. “If you experience this type of behavior, the best thing to do is contact the authorities right away,” warns Nasir.

Fighting Deepfakes At Scale

As deepfakes are causing millions of dollars in damages, a few startups in the tech space are fighting back. Companies like TruthScan, Reality Defender, McAfee, are racing to develop technology that fights AI-generated media online.

The founders of TruthScan interestingly started developing a unique software in 2023, which was created by reverse engineering detection systems. “In 2023 everyone was a bit naive when it came to AI.” Perry explains. “We were optimistic, but now, AI is making real the leading-threat status of deepfake media.”

Perry says TruthScan is using everything it learned when reverse engineering AI detection technology to fight back against deepfake media, such as audio, video, and generative photos.

What founders need now: a new trust model

If deepfakes erode the very idea of “I saw it, therefore it’s true,” then entrepreneurs—who trade daily in speed, trust, and decisive action—sit squarely in the blast radius.

Transactions are faster, org charts are flatter, and remote teams push critical approvals across Slack, Zoom, and email at all hours. That’s operational gold for a startup and a gift to the patient impostor.

Perry’s warning lands because it clarifies the issue: your voice and your face being used to mint fraud at scale. The attack surface is no longer your servers; it’s your identity.