What is a shallowfake? Definition and examples.
A shallowfake is a real photo or video retouched with simple tools to change what it shows. It doesn’t take advanced artificial intelligence: an editing app is enough. That is why it is the most common fake in claims.
Vouch teamOctober 23, 20265-minute read
In short
- A shallowfake is a real image with a targeted edit: added damage, a swapped number plate or a crop that hides the context.
- Unlike a deepfake, it isn’t built from scratch: it starts from an authentic photo.
- It is the most frequent fake in insurance, delivery and e-commerce claims.
- It is detected by combining image analysis, the image’s history and the claim’s context.
Shallowfake, cheapfake and deepfake
The term emerged as a counterpart to deepfake. In 2019, Data & Society researchers described “cheap fakes”: manipulations made with cheap, accessible software, or none at all, such as cropping, speeding up or taking an image out of context.1 Shallowfake is used in the same sense: a shallow but effective fake.
Shallowfake or cheapfake
A real photo or video with a targeted edit: a retouch, a crop, a swapped number plate or an image taken out of context.
Deepfake
An image, audio or video generated or altered with artificial intelligence to create something that never existed, like a face or a scene.
AI-generated image
An image created from scratch by a model from a text prompt.
The line has blurred: editing apps now include AI, and one sentence adds damage to a real photo.
Examples in claims
Added damage
A sound van shows a crack added with AI, submitted with a repair invoice.2
Swapped number plate
The same photo of a crashed car is edited with a different plate to claim twice.3
Exaggerated damage
The loss is real, but the photo makes it look worse. In Spain, AXA reported that 60% of its 2024 fraud cases added damage to real claims.4
Recycled photo
A real image from another time or another person, taken from the internet or social media, is presented as proof of a new event.
Crop
The part of the photo that contradicts the claim is cropped out, like the rest of a product in good condition.
False context
A real photo is presented as if it were from another day, another place or another order.
Why they grew
Allianz UK recorded a 300% rise in cases involving images, videos and documents altered with apps between 2021-22 and 2022-23, and was among the first to talk about shallowfakes in claims.5 In the United States, 36% of consumers would consider altering an image or document to strengthen a claim.6
The reason is simple: editing a photo no longer requires editing skills. Phone tools add, remove or change objects with one sentence. We cover it in detail in the insurance fraud and e-commerce return fraud reports.
How to detect a shallowfake
Look at the edges of the edit
Changes in sharpness, noise or color between the retouched area and the rest of the photo.
Check the metadata
An editing program in the “Software” field or a date that doesn’t match the event. Its absence proves nothing.
Search for the photo online
Many shallowfakes start from a published image: on social media, in a sales listing or in another claim.
Cross-check the context
The time, the place and the claimant’s history have to fit what the photo shows.
We explain it step by step in the guide to telling whether a photo was generated or edited with AI.
With Vouch: every photo is analyzed with three layers at once: editing signals, a search online and in previous claims, and the customer’s context, with the reason behind each result.
How Vouch solves it
Vouch analyzes every photo in under 30 seconds with three layers: detection of images generated or edited with AI, a search for the image online and in previous claims, and the customer’s context. It returns a 0–100 risk score with the reason, and gray-area cases go to a specialist. It works from Vouch Web, with no integration, or via API.
Frequently asked questions
What is a shallowfake?
A real photo or video retouched with simple tools, like an editing app, to change what it shows: adding damage, swapping a number plate, cropping out what contradicts the story or taking the image out of context.
What is the difference between a shallowfake and a deepfake?
A deepfake is generated or altered with artificial intelligence to create something that never existed, like a face or a scene. A shallowfake starts from an authentic image and makes a targeted edit. Today the line is blurry, because editing apps already include AI.
Where are shallowfakes used most?
In motor and home insurance claims, delivery refund requests and e-commerce returns: any process that accepts a photo as evidence.
How do you detect a shallowfake in a claim?
By combining image analysis, a search for that same photo online and in past claims, and the claimant’s context. Vouch runs those steps in under 30 seconds per photo and explains the reason behind each result.
Sources
This article is based on public sources only; every figure can be verified.
- Data & Society. Deepfakes and Cheap Fakes: The Manipulation of Audio and Visual Evidence (Sep 2019)
- Allianz UK. Posting car pics fuels fraud (Jun 2026)
- Admiral Group. The White Lie Effect: 1 in 8 people admit to exaggerating insurance claims (2026)
- Bolsamanía (Europa Press). Axa evita 87 millones en fraude al seguro en 2024, un 3,6% más (2025)
- PropertyCasualty360. Fraudsters using AI to manipulate images for false claims (May 2024)
- Verisk. AI Editing Tools Are Fueling a New Era of Insurance Fraud, According to New Research from Verisk (Mar 2026)