HD Field Guide 01
Verify the person, not the performance
A calm, trusted-channel response to cloned voices, synthetic video and urgent impersonation requests.
AI-generated audio, video and writing can make a false request look familiar. Treat urgency, emotion and apparent realism as reasons to verify—not as proof.
Recognise the pressure pattern
Impersonation attempts commonly combine a believable identity with urgency, secrecy or fear. The request may involve an emergency, confidential transaction, account recovery or instruction from a senior person.
Visual or audio quality is not a reliable test. Verification should depend on a trusted process outside the conversation where the request began.
Move to a trusted channel
Do not call a number supplied in the suspicious message. Use a saved contact, an official directory, a known switchboard or a face-to-face check.
For families and small teams, agree in advance how urgent requests will be verified. A simple phrase, callback rule or second-person approval can break the attacker’s pressure cycle.
Preserve useful evidence
Keep the message, caller details, timestamps, payment information and any files. Avoid repeatedly forwarding suspicious media because this can alter metadata or increase exposure.
Report the attempt to the relevant organisation, financial institution or security team and follow their instructions.
Before you close the guide
- No action based only on voice, video or writing style
- Known callback channel used
- Second approval for money, access or sensitive data
- Evidence preserved and reported
Continue with primary guidance
This guide provides general educational information. Adapt it to your organisation’s policies, contracts, legal obligations and incident process. For an active incident, use trusted professional and official support channels.