70-Year-Old Doctor Loses Rs 20 Lakh in Investment Fraud
Cybercriminals used a deepfake of the Finance Minister to lure an elderly woman into a bogus investment scheme
Hyderabad: Cyber criminals, posing as representatives of a fake investment company, duped a septuagenarian doctor of Rs 20 lakh, luring her with the promises of high returns. Hyderabad cybercrime police registered the case and launched an investigation.
According to police officials, the cyber criminals used an AI-generated video of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to promote their bogus investment scheme. While looking for investment avenues, the victim came across the misleading AI-generated advertisement, where Sitharaman was allegedly shown as promoting the scheme, and clicked on it.
Subsequently, a man posing as a representative of the fake firm contacted the victim and enrolled her into the scheme by collecting her Aadhaar, PAN, and bank account details.
Later, another man contacted the victim, claiming to be a financial advisor with FIN Bridge. After gaining the trust of the victim, he advised her to invest Rs 20,000.
As the victim saw profits in US dollars, she got convinced about the scheme and invested Rs 20,13,305 in several phases. While the valuation of her profits soared to $79,850 in the form of Bitcoins, which would translate into Rs 68 lakh.
However, when the victim wanted to withdraw her profit, the cyber criminals sought more money in the form of several charges, making her realise that she was duped. She immediately approached the Hyderabad Cyber Police and lodged a complaint against the fraudsters.
By Ravi Shankar Kumar
