Kerala's deepfake video call scam

Brut India

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.)

Transcript

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.

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