Nagpur trader's elderly father voice deepfake — Sep 2024

In late September 2024, an elderly resident of Nagpur was defrauded of ₹50 lakh after being targeted by cybercriminals using sophisticated voice cloning technology. The perpetrators impersonated a trusted community leader to convince the victim that they were facing an urgent financial crisis in Delhi.

What happened

The incident began when the victim, the father of a 42-year-old local trader, received an online call at his Hiwari Nagar residence. The caller utilized voice cloning to mimic a well-known community leader and supported the deception with a photograph of the individual. Claiming to be stranded in Delhi due to an emergency, the impersonator requested ₹50 lakh, promising that the funds would be repaid promptly.

To facilitate the transfer, the caller provided a specific location in Delhi. Following the instructions, a family representative delivered the cash to an individual identified as Ankit at Chandni Chowk around 5:05 pm on September 26. Shortly after the transaction, the communication channels used by the fraudsters, including WhatsApp numbers, were deactivated and became unreachable. The family subsequently confirmed that the community leader had no involvement in the request and that the contact numbers did not belong to him.

Cyber police registered an FIR on October 10, citing charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and violations of the IT Act. Investigators are currently tracing the WhatsApp numbers and the suspects involved, though no arrests have been made as of the report date. Authorities believe the incident was a case of targeted phishing that combined social engineering with advanced audio synthesis.