ALAPPUZHA: With deepfake video scams, involving doctored videos of renowned personalities, mushrooming across social media, hundreds of people in the state have fallen victim to such fraud -- mostly those that offer lucrative investment opportunities. According to the state cyber crime wing, more than 1,000 such deepfake videos were removed from social media platforms following complaints in the past year.
These videos are created using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and posted on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. They often feature manipulated footage of public figures and personalities, who appear to promote false investment schemes. People are misled by the realistic visuals and voice clones, and promises of exaggerated returns.
“The striking resemblance confuses people,” said S Sreekandan, a business analyst. “The ads show people like President Droupadi Murmu, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman or Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy speaking about some ‘good investment’ for the common man. The fraudsters even use clips of popular television news anchors like Rajdeep Sardesai and branding of reputed media houses to gain trust.”
He emphasised that both central and state cyber wings need to act more decisively to curb the menace. “Cyber laws are weak in the country, which aids fraudsters. Many of the scams are linked to share trading, and they offer guaranteed returns. Guaranteed returns are impossible in the stock market and such assurances are more often than not linked to deception,” Sreekandan said.
Ankit Ashokan, superintendent of police, telecom and technology, said the cyber wing has acted on over 1,000 complaints and taken down numerous fraudulent videos. However, he admitted that new cases are emerging daily.
“These operations are largely run from foreign countries. We have taken necessary steps to prevent such fraud and are working to raise public awareness. People must understand that no one offers huge profits in a short span without risks. The public should stay alert and not fall for suspicious social media ads. Meanwhile, the cyber wing has already asked social media platforms to control such paid advertisements that stash money,” said Ankit, who heads Kerala Police’s cyber operations.
The fraudsters use spoof IP addresses to operate these ad campaigns on social media. Most of the operations are reportedly based in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and other countries, often with support in India.
While the videos are uploaded from abroad, the money is transferred to genuine Indian bank accounts using legitimate IP addresses. “By the time complaints reach us, usually after several weeks or months, it becomes tough to trace the perpetrators,” said an officer with the cyber operations wing.