As the digital world is expanding so are the number of scams we see coming from it. Technological and digital scams, online scams are just increasing day by day to incorporate all the new avenues and platforms, because how can even one area remain relatively safe.
People have had anyway been raising concerns over the possible misuse of things like artificial intelligence and most importantly deepfakes for some time now, and it seems those concerns had some merit to them.
In recent news, a man from Kerala was scammed out of almost Rs. 40,000 through an AI-based WhatsApp video call using deepfake.
What Is This New Scam?
On 14th June 2023, the Kerala Police’s cyber wing got information about a man from Kozhikode City who received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number with the caller acting as a former colleague of the victim using deepfake image generated from AI tools.
The online scam was reported in Thiruvananthapuram and according to the police the victim, a man Radhakrishnan got a video call request from an unsaved number. Once he picked up the call, the scammer took up the identity of a former colleague of his from Andhra Pradesh, even going so far as to give names of some common friends to build trust about their authenticity.
The victim based on this, thought it was a genuine call and continued it, unknowing that it was all fake and a scam as just a few minutes afterward the caller requested if the victim could loan them Rs. 40,000 that they needed immediately as a relative was in the hospital.
Read More: Is It Time To Be Afraid Of AI?
The victim thinking it was really a former acquaintance moved to assist and sent over the amount online. However, it was when the same person requested an additional Rs. 35,000 that he became suspicious and to cross-check by contacting his former colleague.
The victim then found out that the person had never contacted him and the call he got was not real and he’d been scammed out of Rs. 40,000.
The victim then decided to report the scam to the police who then based on investigation tracked the transaction of the money to a private bank in Maharashtra. The bank authorities thereafter froze the account to avoid any more illegal transactions taking place.
Speaking with PTI, Cyber Wing SP, Hari Sankar said, “The scammers used an AI-based video interface to impersonate his friend and sought money.”
Sankar explained further that “When he received another call seeking more money, he contacted the person directly and found out that he was scammed. Radhakrishnan contacted us immediately, and we were able to block the amount.”
The Kerala Cyber Wing has asked people to be cautious of such scams and to contact the Kerala Cyber Help Line number ‘1930’ in case of any such phone calls. They also added some tips to identify whether its a scam including:
- blurred background and basic facial movements of the eyes, lips and chin that not any normal living person would do
- be instantly suspicious of unknown callers and not give out any personal information especially money to them
- in case of suspicion end the call and then independently contact the person whose identity is being used to confirm whether the call was real
- the voice on call could sound different from real life
- be on guard if the caller asks one to help out by sending money online or giving out personal information like credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or other things.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: India Today, Hindustan Times, Business Today
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Kerala Man Deepfake WhatsApp Fraud, WhatsApp Fraud. WhatsApp Fake call, deepfake, whatsapp, whatsapp scam, ai scam, deepfake whatsapp scam, cyber crime, cyber crime india, artificial intelligence
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
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