69-year-old senior citizen voice deepfake — Sep 2024

On September 26, 2024, a 69-year-old senior citizen in Mumbai was defrauded of ₹50 lakh after receiving a WhatsApp call from an individual impersonating a respected community figure. The caller, using an AI-cloned voice that sounded identical to the acquaintance, claimed to be stranded in New Delhi and in urgent need of a large loan. To add credibility to the ruse, the fraudster used the impersonated individual's profile photograph and shared a temporary location pin related to a supposed repayment arrangement in Nagpur, which was later deleted from the chat.

What happened

The victim, believing the request was genuine due to the familiar voice and profile, arranged the funds with the assistance of a trusted friend. Following the caller's specific instructions, the victim delivered the ₹50 lakh in cash to a courier at a designated location in Delhi. The courier confirmed the details provided by the scammers before collecting the money. Immediately after the handover, the mobile numbers used by the perpetrators became unreachable. The victim subsequently contacted the actual community figure, who confirmed they had never requested money or initiated the WhatsApp call. Police are currently investigating the incident by analyzing call records, device information, and digital evidence to identify the suspects involved in the operation. The use of a physical courier for the cash handover has complicated recovery efforts, as investigators must now rely on surveillance footage and physical tracking rather than digital transaction trails to trace the stolen funds.