Retired Top Cop Latest Victim Of Deepfake, Video Used To Con Ghaziabad Man

A retired IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh is the latest victim of deepfakes after a series of actors fell prey to this new technology. An elderly man in Ghaziabad was allegedly cheated off Rs 74,000 using the altered video of the former cop.

The deepfake video that has gone viral purportedly showed Additional Director General of Police (retired) Prem Prakash on a video call with the elderly man's daughter.

Arvind Sharma, 74, had on November 4 received two video calls from the accused. He disconnected the first call after a naked woman appeared on the screen. The second call was of a man in police uniform who identified as a Delhi Police officer and threatened him with jail if he didn't pay up.

Out of fear, he transferred Rs 74,000, only to later realise he has been conned. A case was filed after he filed a complaint at Kavinagar police station.

Deepfakes are media content digitally altered using artificial intelligence. A new such trend has taken the internet by storm, raising concerns over nudity and sexual exploitation.

The latest case highlights how tricksters can use this new technology to execute financial crimes at micro level.

Actors Rashmika Mandanna, Katrina Kaif and Ali Bhatt are among celebrities whose fake videos had gone viral in the recent past, prompting the government to consider rules and regulations to crack down on deepfakes.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar last week said the government will soon appoint an officer to take appropriate action against deepfake content.