Kerala man loses INR 40,000 to deepfake work colleague

An elderly Indian man was defrauded of INR 40,000 after scammers used deepfake technologies to impersonate a former work colleague at Coal India seeking money for his sister's surgery on a WhatsApp video call . What happened 73 year-old Ker ala resident PS Radhakrishnan told the Hindustan Times that he had r eceived a call from an anonymous number, followed by messages on WhatsApp from the same number with the person identifying himseld as Radhakrishnan’s former colleague at Coal India Ltd. 'We had worked together for nearly four decades and I knew him well. The display picture was his photo. He asked about my daughter and where she worked. We texted for some time during which he shared his family photographs and asked about our common colleagues,' he said. 'Seconds later, he called and looked exactly like my former colleague,' he added. 'Even though only his face was visible, it was clear. His lips and eyes moved like any normal person as we talked in English. The call lasted just 25 seconds before it got cut. He later came back on a voice call and spoke about the urgency for money. I didn’t ask any more questions and transferred the money.' Police have since traced Radhakrishnan's money to an account in Maharashtra. The incident constitutes the first known case of a deepfake scam in India. Why it happened The scam was facilitated by the fraudster's access to personal information about Radhakrishnan, likely gathered from social media. This allowed the scammer to create a believable scenario that exploited Radhakrishnan's trust in his former colleague. The use of AI deepfake technology - widely available at little or no cost - made the impersonation more convincing, as it involved realistic audio and visual manipulation. Why it matters The incident highlights the growing threat of deepfake technology in cybercrime, showcasing how sophisticated AI tools can be used for fraud. The Kerala police initiated an investigation and successfully traced the funds to an account in Maharashtra, which has since been frozen. The case serves as a reminder for individuals and organisations to remain vigilant against online scams and verify unexpected requests for money, especially those involving personal acquaintances. Identity theft Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number , without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. Source: Wikipedia 🔗 System 🤖 Unknown Operator: Developer: Country: India Sector: Private - individual, family Purpose: Defraud Technology: Deepfake - audio, video; Machine learning Issue: Impersonation; Privacy; Fraud

Date it happened

2023-07-01

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