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A 59-year-old man from Pune recently fell prey to a deepfake video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and his wife Sudha Murty promoting AI-based share trading tools and lost Rs 43 lakh to a cyber scam, said the police. The police filed a First Information Report (FIR) in the case at the Nanded city police station Tuesday based on the complaint of the victim, a resident of Sinhagad Road.
The complainant claimed that he came across an advertisement while browsing on Instagram a few months ago. The advertisement allegedly promised a return of Rs 17 lakh after 28 days of initial investment of Rs 21,000 in a stock. After he clicked the link, he was allegedly directed to a video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty, the founder-chairperson of Infosys Foundation.
The probe later revealed that it was a deepfake video that claimed that the initial investment of Rs 21,000 would grow manifold through a platform that uses AI tools for market analysis and investment strategy. The video also allegedly included deepfake testimonials of investors who claimed to have profited immensely. Believing all this to be true, the complainant said he transferred Rs 21,000 to an account.
As per the complaint, two days later, the complainant got a call from an international number from a man who welcomed him to an investment platform. The caller allegedly asked the complainant to share his personal and financial details, identify documents and asked him to continue to invest in the platform. The caller also allegedly told the victim that all the transactions were happening in US dollars.
Between February and May this year, the complainant allegedly received over 120 calls from international numbers in which the callers gave him various reasons to make more transfers, at times forcing him to do so. From time to time,, the complainant was pressured not to seek withdrawal of his “investments” and was coerced into making transfers, saying all his “investments” would be lost, said the police.
As per the complaint, at times when the complainant told these callers that he did not have sufficient funds, he was advised to borrow money from friends or take personal loans. Between the first week of February and the first week of May, the complainant allegedly made a total of 19 transfers worth Rs 43.68 lakh to fraudulent mule accounts. He claimed that then he sought to finally make a withdrawal as he had exhausted all his savings, the callers went incommunicado, and he realised that he had been cheated. He subsequently approached the cybercrime police station of Pune, and after a preliminary inquiry, the police filed the FIR.
The Indian Express reported earlier that deepfake videos of stock market experts, industry leaders and eminent personalities urging investors to join WhatsApp groups or invest in spurious trading platforms were part of the evolving strategies of cyber criminals perpetrating share trading frauds. Experts and industry leaders, including Narayana Murthy, have flagged concerns about the deepfake videos of them being used to cheat people.
The police said one can identify a deepfake video by checking audiovisual mismatch, inconsistencies in facial expressions, background and issues with lip sync. One of the best ways is only to trust the posts on verified and official handles, they said.
The police also expressed concerns over citizens continuing to fall prey to these scams despite several advisories, sensitisation campaigns and wide media coverage in this regard.
