Kerala Man Loses Rs 40,000 To AI-Based Deepfake Scam: Here's What It Is

According to the police in Kerala, Radhakrishnan received a video call on WhatsApp from an unknown number. When he received the call, the person on the other side looked like one of his former colleagues in Andhra Pradesh.

The person on the other side asked Rs 40,000 from Radhakrishnan via Google Pay to help a relative in the hospital. When another demand for Rs 30,000 was made, Radhakrishnan got suspicious and filed a complaint with the Cyber Police.

With the AI getting more powerful, scammers are using it to impersonate someone, making the distinction between real and fake challenging. AI technology is used to analyse and process data, such as facial images and voice recordings, facilitating the creation of realistic deepfake videos that closely imitate a person's appearance and voice.

In May, another shocking incident was reported from China when a scammer used AI-powered face-swapping technology to impersonate a friend of the victim during a video call and receive a transfer of 4.3 million yuan ($622,000).

Experts have warned about such scams, offering some tips to be safe. People are asked to check the video quality as most of the deepfakes have poor resolution. If observed carefully, the deepfake videos loop back to the beginning after a certain amount of time or abruptly stop, making it clear that it's not real. It is also advisable to contact a person separately to check if he/she is indeed on the video call before making any financial transactions.