Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Deepfake scams are getting uglier, and Bitdefender now has an app for the panic

RealCheck gives Android and iOS users a paid way to test suspicious videos before money or personal data is at risk.

Add as a preferred source on Google
how-to-remove-nudes-deepfake-non-consensual-images
Kaique Rocha / Pexels

Bitdefender has launched RealCheck, a deepfake detector built for the moment when fake video scams show up as ordinary clips. The standalone app is available now for Android and iOS, and it can analyze uploaded files or links from digital platforms.

RealCheck checks a video’s authenticity and screens for scam intent in the same report. That includes signals tied to financial fraud, credential theft, impersonation, and reputational attacks.

Recommended Videos

Fake videos now move through the places where people make quick trust calls. A polished clip in a social feed or family chat can push someone toward a link, a payment, or a password request before they’ve had time to slow down.

How would RealCheck check a video

You can submit a local upload or a web-hosted video, including posts from X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. The app then runs a layered analysis instead of handing back a simple real-or-fake result.

Its report covers manipulation likelihood, deceptive intent, and transcript-level signals. Bitdefender says the app reviews speech in segments, which helps identify where a suspicious claim or altered section may appear.

Synthetic video isn’t automatically dangerous. Some clips are satire, entertainment, or obvious edits, so RealCheck’s more useful role is flagging signs that a video is trying to push fraud, theft, or impersonation.

Why do social feeds complicate trust

Major-platform support gives RealCheck a clear everyday job. The hardest clips to judge often arrive inside a feed, where a familiar face, urgent claim, or slick edit can look credible long enough to get shared.

Bitdefender cites research showing consumers correctly identified high-quality deepfakes only 24.5% of the time. It also says social media has surpassed other channels as the leading place for successful scams in its global survey of 7,000 consumers.

A detector won’t replace skepticism, but it can add a checkpoint before someone forwards a clip, enters a password, follows a payment request, or reacts to an impersonated public figure.

What should people pay for now

RealCheck is available in English across 14 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France. Bitdefender says more languages are planned for future releases.

The app has two monthly plans. Core costs $4.99 per month with 200 checks, while Plus costs $12.99 per month with 600 checks. Both include a 7-day free trial.

You’ll get the most value by using the trial selectively. Check videos that ask for money, logins, urgent action, or trust in a familiar face, then decide whether the monthly limit fits how often suspicious clips reach you.

Paulo Vargas
Paulo Vargas is an English major turned reporter turned technical writer, with a career that has always circled back to…
South Korea wants to give every citizen free, unlimited access to its own AI chatbot
The government-backed service could turn generative AI into public infrastructure instead of another monthly subscription
Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

South Korea wants to give every citizen free access to an AI chatbot with no usage limits. That puts the technology closer to a public utility than another premium service demanding a monthly subscription.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the AI for Everyone project on July 13. Private companies will build the platform around locally developed models, while a separate AI agent will help people navigate government services. It’s a more practical job than generating emails or settling arguments nobody wanted to research themselves.

Read more
Falling in love with a chatbot is now off limits for kids in China
The crackdown targets emotional AI relationships as regulators worry about the country's record low birthrate.
Replika AI companion app on an iPhone in hand

Ever since AI chatbots arrived on the scene, there has been one aspect that has worried lawmakers and experts a lot: humans forming emotional connections with chatbots. There have been plenty of cases where over-reliance on these AI companions or partners has resulted in medical emergencies, lost lives, and triggered multiple lawsuits against the likes of OpenAI and Meta.

China cracks down on AI companion apps

Read more
Russian hackers keep finding their way into critical networks through neglected routers
A multinational warning says outdated firmware, weak passwords, and insecure settings are giving state-backed attackers an easy opening
A Wi-Fi router next to a laptop.

Russian state-backed hackers have spent more than a decade exploiting a stubborn weakness in critical infrastructure networks. Organizations are still leaving poorly configured and outdated routers exposed to the internet.

In a joint cybersecurity advisory, the NSA, CISA, FBI, and international partners warn that hackers linked to Center 16 of Russia’s Federal Security Service are continuing to target vulnerable networking equipment. Energy, healthcare, and government networks are among the sectors facing the highest risk.

Read more