Nagpur family duped of Rs 50 lakh in alleged AI voice-cloning fraud; cyber police register case
Fraudsters allegedly cloned the voice of a prominent Jain community member to extract Rs 50 lakh in cash from a Nagpur family.
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A cyber fraud case has come to light in Nagpur in which Rs 50 lakh was allegedly taken with the help of AI voice cloning. According to the complaint, the fraudsters replicated the voice of Kanhaiyalal Patwari, a prominent member of the Jain community, and used it to extract a large sum from a family. The cyber police have registered a case and begun an investigation.
The complaint was filed by Nitin (42), a resident of Hiwri Layout. According to him, his father, Nirmal Kumar, was at home on September 26 when he was contacted from an unknown WhatsApp number. The profile picture of that number carried a photograph of Kanhaiyalal Patwari.
It is alleged that the person on the other end used AI voice-cloning technology to imitate Patwari's voice. He said an emergency had arisen in Delhi and he urgently needed a large sum. He also assured that the money would be returned as soon as he got back to Nagpur. Since the face was familiar and so was the voice, Nirmal Kumar had no suspicion.
To make the request look like a genuine transaction, the accused also sent the location of a place in Delhi on WhatsApp, which was deleted a short while later. As the money was said to be needed immediately, Nirmal Kumar arranged for it to be delivered through an acquaintance in Delhi.
The complaint states that at around 5 pm the same day, September 26, Rs 50 lakh in cash was collected in the Chandni Chowk area of Delhi from the person sent by Nirmal Kumar. When Nitin later realised he had been cheated, he complained to the police.
The cyber police have registered a case under the relevant sections against the person who made contact on WhatsApp, the person who collected the cash while identifying himself as "Ankit", and their unidentified associates. The police are now working to identify the accused, recover the money and examine the role of others in the network. No arrest has been reported so far.
The allegations are still under investigation. The police inquiry will establish how the voice was imitated and who the money ultimately reached.
