Kolkata-based businesswoman voice deepfake — Nov 2024

A Kolkata-based businesswoman was defrauded of Rs 1.2 lakh after cybercriminals utilized AI-powered voice cloning to impersonate a long-time acquaintance. The victim, who operates a local florist shop, was deceived by a sophisticated social engineering scheme involving fabricated financial documentation.

What happened

On the evening of November 3, 2024, the victim received two phone calls from an unknown number between 6:09 pm and 8:27 pm. The caller utilized voice cloning technology to replicate the tone, cadence, and speech patterns of an acquaintance the victim had known for several years. During the calls, the impersonator claimed his child was hospitalized and required urgent medical treatment.

To facilitate the theft, the fraudster claimed a friend would transfer money to the victim via UPI, requesting that she forward the funds to a designated account due to alleged network issues. To bolster the deception, the attacker sent fabricated UPI transaction receipts via WhatsApp, falsely indicating transfers of Rs 28,000 and Rs 95,000. Trusting the familiar voice and the provided screenshots, the victim transferred a total of Rs 1.2 lakh in two separate transactions.

The fraud was discovered only after the victim reviewed her bank statement and realized no funds had been credited to her account. Upon contacting the actual acquaintance, she confirmed the request was fraudulent. The Shakespeare Sarani Police Station has registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. Investigators suspect the attackers harvested audio samples to train the cloning software and are currently tracing the destination accounts. The Kolkata Police Cyber Crime Wing has since issued a warning, advising citizens to verify urgent financial requests through independent channels and to confirm bank credits directly rather than relying on digital payment receipts.