Plain Memo

A Plain Memo

Stop trying to spot the fake — switch channels instead

9 min10 views

A finance employee in Hong Kong joined a video call with his CFO and five colleagues he recognized — and wired twenty-five million dollars to strangers. None of the people on the call were real.

AI-generated photos, voices, and video now pass the perceptual tests your eyes and ears spent a lifetime running. The honest catch isn't sharper looking — it's structural. Here are the four moves that actually work in 2026, and the one thing worth doing this week.

ℹ️ AI voice disclosure: This episode uses an AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs). The host is a pseudonymous byline persona (Reid Conlin).

In this memo

  1. 0:00 The twenty-five million dollar video call
  2. 0:45 Where the checklist almost works
  3. 2:10 When looking harder stops working
  4. 4:45 Four moves, all available today
  5. 7:26 Break the channel

Sources

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