E-Paper
Man falls victim to AI voice scam, loses ₹1.58 lakh
The victim said he got a call from an unidentified mobile number on December 6 and was apprised of the need for money to meet expenses on medical treatment of the caller’s friend in Lucknow
LUCKNOW A government official was allegedly duped of ₹1.58 lakh after a fraudster called him up and cooked up a distressing story, seeking immediate transfer of funds by mimicking his relative’s voice through AI voice spoofing. The incident took place earlier this month and the FIR was lodged on December 21, said police.
The victim, Prashant (name changed), said he got a call from an unidentified mobile number on December 6 and was apprised of the need for money to meet expenses on medical treatment of the caller’s friend in Lucknow. “The voice of the caller resembled that of my brother-in-law, who is a judge posted in New Delhi, and so I transferred the funds to the account mentioned by the caller,” he said.
“Later, when I spoke to my brother-in-law, he denied having called me. He also asked me to lodge a complaint with the police,” said the victim. An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the IPC and IT Act, said JK Singh, SHO, Hussainganj.
Cyber expert and former SP (cyber cell) Triveni Singh said that ‘AI voice scam’ is a type of fraud that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate audio of a person’s voice, making the caller sound like someone the victim knows and trusts. “Scammers often use this technique to pose as family members, friends, or even customer service representatives to trick the victim into divulging personal information or sending money,” he added.
