What happened

73 year-old Kerala resident PS Radhakrishnan told the Hindustan Times that he had received a call from an anonymous number, followed by messages on WhatsApp from the same number with the person identifying himseld as Radhakrishnan’s former colleague at Coal India Ltd. 

'We had worked together for nearly four decades and I knew him well. The display picture was his photo. He asked about my daughter and where she worked. We texted for some time during which he shared his family photographs and asked about our common colleagues,' he said. 

'Seconds later, he called and looked exactly like my former colleague,' he added. 'Even though only his face was visible, it was clear. His lips and eyes moved like any normal person as we talked in English. The call lasted just 25 seconds before it got cut. He later came back on a voice call and spoke about the urgency for money. I didn’t ask any more questions and transferred the money.'

Police have since traced Radhakrishnan's money to an account in Maharashtra. The incident constitutes the first known case of a deepfake scam in India.

Why it happened

The scam was facilitated by the fraudster's access to personal information about Radhakrishnan, likely gathered from social media. 

This allowed the scammer to create a believable scenario that exploited Radhakrishnan's trust in his former colleague. 

The use of AI deepfake technology - widely available at little or no cost - made the impersonation more convincing, as it involved realistic audio and visual manipulation.