When Seeing Is No Longer Believing: Deepfakes, AI Deception, and the Scam Economy with Perry Carpenter

What if the person on your screen isn't real? Author and cybersecurity expert Perry Carpenter joins Erin West to break down how deepfakes, AI-generated voice cloning, and synthetic media have become the scammer's most powerful weapons — and why your own desire to believe is their greatest asset.

Perry is the author of Faik: A Practical Guide to Living in a World of Deepfakes, Disinformation, and AI-Generated Deception, and he doesn't pull punches. In this episode, he live-demos deepfake face-swapping technology that costs $60 and installs like any app, explains why deepfake detection software is always one step behind, and reveals how scam operations run Telegram channels where criminals share tips, troubleshoot their tech, and celebrate their "sales goals."

Erin and Perry also dig into the psychology that makes victims so vulnerable — and what regular people can do right now to stay grounded in a world where reality is increasingly malleable.

You'll learn:

• How cheaply and easily deepfake face and voice tech is available to scammers today
• Why confirmation bias is more dangerous than the technology itself
• The difference between AI, deepfakes, and synthetic media — and why it matters
• What to tell your family members about verifying what they see online
• Why scam compounds operate like legitimate businesses — complete with Telegram support channels

Perry and Erin will both be speaking at SXSW 2026 — catch them live in Austin.

Stolen is hosted by Erin West, former Santa Clara County prosecutor and founder of Operation Shamrock.

Learn more about Operation Shamrock: operationshamrock.org

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