Verify

Stop the fakes.

Join the movement to protect ourselves and our organizations from deepfakes. It’s free. It’s easy. And we’ll help you get started.

Launching October 1, 2026

Why we’re here

Does the security of your organization depend on whether your employees have a gut feeling about an email? Gut feelings are no longer enough to save us. Criminals using AI can craft messages without red flags that no longer feel suspicious. A fake email or call from your manager may feature the same language and tone as your real boss, with a request that is close to normal request parameters. How can an employee tell the difference?

The missing step for security: a verification plan. Organizations need clear verification plans that show employees what to confirm and how, not based on suspicion, but on practical data like the message's call to action. Employees no longer have to guess and hope that they made the right choice. You no longer have to hope your employees get a "funny feeling" about an incoming message or call.

Our project is designed to help organizations create simple but effective verification plans that can help protect employees and the organization.

We have created a simple but effective verification plan framework that you can use to adapt to your organization. This is a not-for-profit project movement to make us all safer in the age of AI.

We want to provide employees with an easy set of steps to follow when they receive a message that attack trends show as potentially risky. No guessing or hunches, the employee simply follows the plan. Stickers, branding, and T-shirts remind people in your organization to always VERIFY if the message fits the plan.

You’ll be joining hundreds of cities and organizations across the country as we launch Verify in October 2026. This is not a formal group or a membership, just organizations working toward better deepfake defense.

This project was originally created to help cities, but has expanded to all organizations

In social engineering and deepfakes attacks, the criminals often pressure employees to act quickly, or make them feel guilty for not helping “the boss” in a time of urgency. Your verification plan allows employees to simply say, “Sorry, our policy is to follow the verification plan. What is a good contact number for me to call you back?”

Join the movement

This is a simple framework you can use to create your own plan. You’ll want to work with your organization to determine which social engineering attack to target, who to contact for verification, and how. It’s important for everyone involved to be ready, willing, and able to help verify when needed.

The goal of this plan is not to cover all potential attacks, but to create a movement to highlight an easily understandable, high profile attack that will get the attention of everyone in the organization, giving them a specific path and method to push back against the “authority” and “urgency” used in CEO-style attacks.

With an eye-catching campaign, the plan grabs the attention of the organization, and leads to more motivation and attention to detail on other attacks.

SAMPLE CEO FRAUD VERIFICATION PLAN:

IF YOU RECEIVE EMAILS, CALLS, MESSAGES, VIDEO CALLS FROM CEO OR OTHER EXECUTIVE REGARDING ANY FINANCIAL ISSUE:

Verify with admin J. Smith at contact info (email and/or phone number).
If that admin is not available, verify with admin B. Jones at contact info (email and/or phone number).
If neither is available, do not respond to message. If it seems urgent, contact your immediate supervisor at contact info (email and/or phone number).
If not verified, report to information security team.
Once verified, respond to the message.

Sample plan

How to get started

Decide you want to make your organization safer.
Contact us and let us know you want to join in. It’s more fun to work together!
We’ll go over the concept and how to make your own plan.
Decide how to market your plan to your organization.
Launch your plan in October 2026!

Some things to think about

How do you want to modify the plan for your organization?
Who will be the verifiers & how should they be contacted?
Is there an alternate contact channel to use?
How does IT/cybersecurity want to be contacted about this?
Do both the verifier and the confirmer feel comfortable with their role?
Does everyone, including management, understand that this will become a regular part of the workflow?
Where do you want the plan to "live" so employees can access it easily?
How do you want to market the plan to members of your organization?
Do you have any budget for stickers or other marketing materials?
Do you want to give recognition to people who take part in the verification plan, both the contactors and contactees?
Do you want to be a part of our nationwide movement to launch the plan in October?

What do you need?

Do you need help explaining the idea to your organization?
Do you need a one-pager explaining the project?
Do you need the a Verify logo image file to make stickers or T-shirts?
Do you need a virtual presentation to launch the campaign at your organization?
Contact us for help.

Who we are

Kerry Tomlinson

Cyber News Reporter

Clyde Hunt

Municipal Cybersecurity and Technology Consultant

Municipal Cybersecurity and Technology Consultant Clyde Hunt and Cyber News Reporter Kerry Tomlinson are combining their expertise to help organizations launch their own verification plans to defend against cyber crooks armed with AI and deepfake technology. This not-for-profit project is simple, efficient, and will protect people. Join the VERIFY movement today!

Clyde works with Bloomberg Associates, the pro bono consulting arm of the non-profit Bloomberg Philanthropies. Learn more about him and his organization here. His white paper on defending against deepfakes helps cities protect their organizations.

Kerry is a news reporter with Ampyx News. Her news page and YouTube channel publish news stories about cybercrimes and cybersecurity. She is an Emmy Award-winning journalist with a decade of experience in cybersecurity. She gives about 75 talks per year to inform and energize people about the digital world.

Kerry’s latest news investigation into celebrity deepfake scams is here.