Pindrop Creates a $1M Deepfake Warranty as Incidents Rise
WPP's CEO was recently the target of a deepfake scam
Pindrop announced a new deepfake warranty for users of its full voice security, biometrics, and deepfake detection product suite. The company will reimburse its users for “synthetic voice fraud losses…that occur in the IVR or contact center when Pindrop Scores do not alert to that risk.”
The reimbursement rate is capped at $1 million for customers with more than 100 million annual calls, requires a three-year subscription, and is only available to companies in the U.S. and Canada. Companies can get $100,000 in coverage for as little as 10 million calls.
As deepfake technology advances, posing new challenges in cybersecurity, Pindrop is dedicated to helping its customers with effective detection strategies. The Pindrop Pulse technology is an integral part of the Pindrop® Product Suite, and it boasts a 99% deepfake detection rate with minimal false positives. The Pulse Deepfake Warranty embodies our confidence in the Pindrop Product Suite’s ability to detect synthetic voice fraud.
Rise of Deepfakes
Deepfake incidents are rising as the technology improves and costs fall. WPP CEO Mark Read was the victim of a recent deepfake scam attempt. According to the Financial Times:
Mark Read, chief executive of WPP, has been the target of a deepfake scam in which criminals used a voice clone and public YouTube footage to set up a video meeting with his executives.
In an email to colleagues seen by the Financial Times, Read said that the scammers used a publicly available photo to set up a fake WhatsApp account under his name. This was used to arrange a Microsoft Teams call between one of his agency heads, another senior executive and the scammers.
Once on the Teams meeting, a voice clone and YouTube footage of the other executive was used, he said, while scammers impersonated Read off-camera using the chat function.
The scam was apparently unsuccessful but highlighted the increasingly sophisticated use of voice clones in fraud schemes. However, these scams are not limited to high-profile executives.
A high school physical education teacher created a deepfake of the school’s principal “making racist and antisemitic comments,” according to The Verge. Baltimore police arrested the perpetrator last month.
Families are receiving calls impersonating loved ones asking for money. Banks are fielding calls from fraudsters attempting to bypass voice authentication technologies that verify their customers. Pindrop’s warranty arrives at a time when companies are beginning to consider how best to address the rise in deepfakes hitting their contact centers.
Technology and Assurance
Pindrop has developed deepfake and voice clone detection software based on 22 patents. It claims a detection rate of 99% across all deepfakes and 90% for zero-day attacks by new voice cloning technology. The company added the Pindrop Deepfake Warranty to provide added assurance that its liveness detection technology is effective and offers its customers protection from losses if it fails.
Learn more about Synthedia’s deepfake research here.
