Scammers dupe Kerala man of Rs 40,000 using Deepfake WhatsApp; Police recover swindled money

A deepfake technology is an AI kind that produces fake yet realistic videos. According to experts, con artists gather visual and audible information about their targets from their or their friends' social media accounts. To make it seem like a genuine person, they modify the video and image.

Kozhikode: A Kozhikode man will soon receive his money back after falling for a scam that used advanced "deepfake" technology to trick him into sending money to a fake former colleague.

The victim, P. S. Radhakrishnan (68), a native of Chalapuram in Kozhikode, received a call from a person pretending to be his former senior colleague from Andhra Pradesh on Saturday (July 15). Later, Radhakrishnan received a number of late-night calls from an unknown caller, but he chose not to answer them.
Police claim that the suspect impersonated a former colleague of Radhakrishnan using deepfake, an AI-powered face-swapping tool. Radhakrishnan received a request from the former colleague (deepfake) to provide Rs 40,000 for his sister's treatment during a video conversation.

In the belief that the concern was sincere, Radhakrishnan immediately deposited the funds. He became suspicious just when the "old colleague" requested an additional Rs 30,000. He went straight to the cops after this. The elderly man complained to the Cyber Police after finding out that the same person had sent messages to his friends asking for money.

The cyber wing of the Kerala Police sent notifications about the transaction to all Indian banks. It was discovered that the funds had been transferred to a Ratnakar Bank account in Maharashtra. The transaction was frozen by the bank. Once the required documentation is finished, Radhakrishnan will receive the money, the police said.