Exclusive: Inside Haotian AI, the Chinese Real-Time Deepfake Tool Fueling Global Scams

“Oh my god. Oh my god,” I yelled as I looked at my own face on someone else’s body. It was all there: my five o’clock shadow, my goofy grin, even the bags under my eyes.

I was on a Microsoft Teams call interacting with this deepfake version of myself in realtime. Ordinarily the other person on the line looks nothing like me, but by using a gaming laptop and a sought-after, cutting-edge piece of software for scammers, his face morphed into mine. My deepfake pinched his cheek, covered his nose, and stroked his chin, all without the illusion breaking.

Whereas video deepfakes used to be about superimposing someone’s face onto an existing video, the tool I was using promised something else: the ability to shapeshift into someone—anyone—live during a video call. After weeks of back and forth with the Chinese-language scammers selling the tool, called Haotian AI, I had obtained a copy of the software.

Haotian AI is built to work specifically with platforms we all use every day: WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

💡 Know more about Haotian AI or similar scam technologies? Securely message me on Signal at joseph.404 or email [email protected].

Haotian AI: The Next Evolution in Deepfake Scams

Haotian AI marks the next stage in deepfake scams and fraud, one that the public and tech companies may not be ready for, where criminals are able to change their appearance in real time to trick people, including Americans, into handing over their money. Romance scams, tax fraud, virtual kidnappings: all stand to be amplified by live deepfake software which continues to improve in quality.

404 Media’s experimentation with Haotian AI marks the first time a journalist has managed to test this software to see how it really works, how effective it is, and what its existence means for the present and very near future of scams.

Key Findings from the Investigation

• First real-time deepfake test by a journalist: Our investigation provides the first public demonstration of Haotian AI’s capabilities in a live setting.
• Impersonation of U.S. authorities: The tool is demonstrated as a way to impersonate at least one U.S. police department.
• Ties to global scam networks: Haotian AI is linked to Chinese money laundering networks and the ecosystem providing services to massive scam compounds in Southeast Asia.
• $4M+ in revenue: The software has generated over $4 million for its creators.
• Built on open-source tools: Haotian AI likely relies on open-source face-swap technology, with its value lying in sophisticated technical support, making it accessible even to less tech-savvy criminals.

“It is far ahead of everything on the market,” the user interface of Haotian AI reads.

Watch: A clip of a Microsoft Teams call using Haotian AI. [Embedded video]

Haotian AI’s realtime deepfakes can handle adjustments in lighting and objects appearing in front of the subject’s face, according to demos the company has posted on Telegram. One demo video shows an Asian woman magically transforming.