A man was duped of Rs. 40,000 when a video call from a "friend" turned out to be fake. Here's what happened in this AI-based scam...
(This video is created by an AI avatar of Brut journalist Labanya Maitra with her consent.)
(This video is created by an AI avatar of Brut journalist Labanya Maitra with her consent.)
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00:00A phone call from a long-lost friend turned out to be an AI-based deepfake scam in which
00:05this man lost Rs 40,000.
00:08One fine morning in July 2023, P.S. Radhakrishnan, a retired government official from Kerala's
00:14Korikod, received a message from an unknown number.
00:17The sender claimed to be his former colleague and friend, Venu Kumar.
00:21Soon, the two got on a call.
00:24They exchanged pleasantries and shared life updates with each other.
00:28Despite the call being from an unknown number, Radhakrishnan didn't suspect any foul play
00:33because the caller sounded exactly like his friend Venu Kumar.
00:36The two also talked about their common friends.
00:39Radhakrishnan said the caller was well aware of his personal details such as his daughter's
00:43name and her whereabouts.
00:45After a few minutes into the conversation, Venu Kumar made a request.
00:49He said he needed urgent money for his relative's surgery in Mumbai.
00:54At first, Radhakrishnan became a bit suspicious and asked Venu Kumar if they could do a video
00:59call to which the latter readily agreed.
01:02During the video call that lasted for 30 seconds, the caller kept their face very close to the
01:07phone camera as they chatted.
01:09Soon, Radhakrishnan got convinced and transferred Rs 40,000 to the account of the person whom
01:15the caller claimed to be the patient's attendant.
01:19After the transaction, Radhakrishnan got another call from the same man who thanked him and
01:24asked for an additional Rs 30,000.
01:27But this time, he turned down his request and disconnected the call.
01:32Radhakrishnan then decided to contact Venu Kumar on his actual phone number.
01:36He realised his suspicion wasn't unfounded when he spoke to the real Venu Kumar.
01:43Radhakrishnan was taken aback when he found out that Venu Kumar hadn't called him at all
01:47and the caller behind the unknown number was a scammer.
01:50He panicked and informed all his friend groups on WhatsApp about the scam.
01:54What shocked him even more was that many of his friends had also received similar calls.
01:59But how was the scamster able to impersonate his friend?
02:03The answer lies in deepfake technology.
02:06Deepfakes are artificial intelligence-generated audios, photographs and videos that look strikingly
02:11similar to the original.
02:12This technology is easily accessible to the public as there are scores of free softwares
02:17available online.
02:19One of the most common techniques used is face swapping.
02:23In June 2023, a Kerala YouTuber's deepfake video with Malayalam actors had gone viral
02:28on social media.
02:30He later said that he regretted creating the video as he felt it posed a huge safety concern.
02:35Critics have routinely cautioned against the dangers of this technology, including its
02:39usage in the creation of non-consensual pornography.
02:43Back in Koricode, the cybercrime police filed an FIR for cheating and identity theft on
02:49the basis of a complaint filed by Radhakrishnan.
02:52The police said it was the first case of an AI-based deepfake scam reported in Kerala.
02:57They were able to track the bank account of the accused and initiated the recovery process.