Scamming the faithful: Pastors warn congregants about AI deepfakes

3 weeks ago 4

By Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald

MIAMI – When a man named Sergio messaged Pastor Jennifer LeClaire insisting she had promised him a personal phone call and prophetic counseling, she assumed it was a misunderstanding.

Though he was an avid follower of the South Florida pastor’s morning prayer broadcast on Facebook, LeClaire didn’t know him.

Sergio told LeClaire that he was still waiting for her to deliver on what she had promised him. He even threatened to call the police.

But what Sergio had encountered was a deepfake video of LeClaire circulating online. The artificial intelligence–generated video was made to look and sound like LeClaire, preaching in what looked like her familiar home setting and addressing Sergio in her distinctive tone. The scammer used the fabricated video to gain Sergio’s trust — and eventually asked him for money.