Kozhikode: A news media reported that ‘Deep Fake’ technology using Artificial Intelligence (AI) was used to cheat a senior citizen of Rs.40,000 in Kozhikode. This is the first case of using deep fake technology for cyber crimes reported in Kerala. The cyber police have began an investigation into the complaint.
According to the report, the victim is a resident of Palazhi in Kozhikode and a retiree from the Central Government organization, Coal India Limited.
The victim said that he had ignored many calls from an unknown number at 5 am early morning. After some time he got a WhatsApp message from the same number. The message said that the caller was his friend from Andhra Pradesh and a former colleague, who now resides in Dubai.
The report said that victim also received a WhatsApp call from the number and the caller spoke about their times together in the past. Hearing this, the senior citizen was convinced that the caller was his friend.
The person claiming to be his friend asked for Rs.40,000 for the operation of a close relative in Mumbai and said that he would be flying to Mumbai from Dubai. He also asked to send the amount to his account and will pay him as soon as he reached Mumbai.
Though, the senior citizen was not doubtful of the caller’s identity he was skeptical to send the money through account. When he told the caller about his reluctance to send via online transfer, the caller sends him a WhatsApp video of him asking for money. Seeing the face of his former colleague, the victim send him Rs.40,000 without feeling doubt.
However, after a while, the caller asks for Rs.35,000 more. This raised the victim’s suspicion and cut the call telling him that he needs to check his balance.
The report said that the victim then called his former colleague on the number he had on his phone. His friend said that he is in Dubai and about to board a flight to the United States. He confirmed that he did not call him asking for money.
This incident happened last Sunday. The National Cyber Crime division handed over the complaint it had received to the Kozhikode Cyber Police. The investigation has begun, said the report.
The report also said that the victim was convinced that it was indeed his friend in the WhatsApp video. The eyes, lips and brown were all moving.
The Cyber Police believes that the criminal might have used ‘Deep Fake’ technology with the help of AI to recreate the face and sound of the victim’s friend. The police said that crimes have been committed by mimicking voice of people over phone.
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