What Is The AI-Based 'Deepfake Scam' Due To Which A Kerala Man Lost Rs 40,000?

Day by day, as the digital world continues to expand, cyberscams and frauds are also keeping pace with technology and thus rising. And with artificial intelligence (AI) being the latest craze in the tech world, fraudsters are funding new ways to use it to their benefit.

Kerala Man Loses Rs 40,000 Due To Deepfake Scam

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One such case has recently come to light. PS Radhakrishnan, a resident of Kozhikode in Kerala, lost Rs 40,000 after cybercriminals used deep fake AI technology and posed as a former colleague in a WhatsApp video call and sought money for his sister's surgery.

Radhakrishnan first received a call from an anonymous number, which he ignored. Then later, he found several messages from the same number on his WhatsApp, with the person identifying himself as his 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," Radhakrishnan said, as per the HT report.

After some time, the victim received a voice call from the same number. The caller said he was currently at the Dubai airport, waiting to board a flight to India. He asked for a financial favour as his sister-in-law was scheduled for an emergency surgery at a hospital in Mumbai, and a sum of ?40,000 had to be paid urgently as advance. He said the money had to be transferred via UPI to the phone of someone with her at the Mumbai hospital.

The retired official wanted to be doubly sure that he was not being taken for a ride. Immediately, the man said that he would video call right away.

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Also Read: Crypto Trader Hit By Scam Loses $650,000 In Just Two Seconds

Fraudster Impersonated The Face Of Victim's League

¡°Seconds later, he called and looked exactly like my former colleague. 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," the report mentioned.

A few minutes later, the same man called again and asked for Rs 35,000 to take care of hospital expenses. The Kerala man grew suspicious, saying, "There was a hurried tone in his voice, and I lied that my account didn¡¯t have sufficient balance."

Radhakrishnan then called his former colleague on the number he had saved earlier in his contact list, and his former colleague said he never called him. He then realised that he had been cheated by a scamster, who, the police believe, was involved in a deep-fake scam involving someone who the man knew.

How Do Fake Scams Happen?

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AI-based deep fake calls are a type of scam that uses artificial intelligence to create fake videos or audio recordings of people. Scammers can create these calls impersonating a trusted friend, family member, or colleague to trick the victim into giving away personal information or money and thus getting scammed.

Deepfakes can be seen as the 21st century¡¯s answer to photoshopping. Deepfakes use a form of artificial intelligence called deep learning to make images of fake events, hence the name deepfakes, as per The Guardian report.

Deepfake technology can create convincing but entirely fictional photos and videos from scratch. Even audios can be deepfaked too, to create "voice skins" or "voice clones" of anyone.

Also Read; TCS Confirms Plan To Build Its Own ChatGPT Like AI Tool

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