Santander has made a set of AI deepfake videos to raise awareness around the scam risks associated with the technology.

The bank teamed up with Mr Money Jar to demonstrate how realistic deepfake technology already is by featuring the 'finfluencer' and Santander fraud lead Chris Ainsley in its videos, which are being posted to social media.

The move comes as new research from Santander shows more than half of Brits - 53 per cent - have either not heard of the term deepfake or misunderstood what it meant, with only 17 per cent of consumers confident they could easily identify a deepfake video.

“Generative AI is developing at breakneck speed, and we know it’s ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ we start to see an influx of scams with deepfakes lurking behind them," said Santander's head of fraud risk management Chris Ainsley, who features in the deepfake videos. "We already know fraudsters flood social media with fake investment opportunities and bogus love interests, and unfortunately, it’s highly likely that deepfakes will begin to be used to create even more convincing scams of these types."

Santander's research also demonstrates that many people have previously come across a deepfake, with over a third - 36 per cent - of Brits having already knowingly watched a deepfake.

28 per cent of respondents reported having seen a deepfake on Facebook, followed by 26 per cent on X (formerly Twitter), 23 per cent on TikTok, and 22 per cent on Instagram.

Online ‘finfluencer’ Timi Merriman-Johnson (@mrmoneyjar) said: “The rate at which generative AI is developing is equal parts fascinating and terrifying. It is already very difficult to spot the difference between deepfake videos and ‘real’ ones, and this technology will only get better from this point forward. This is why it’s very important for users to be aware of the ways in which fraudsters use technology like this to scam people."

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