Kerala: Man cheated of Rs 40,000 over AI-based video call

Officials urged public to contact Help Line number '1930' in case of suspicious calls

A man was cheated of Rs 40,000 by unidentified persons who resorted to Artificial Intelligence-based tools and contacted him over WhatsApp video calls posing as a former colleague.

The Cyber Wing of the Kerala police said they received the information on Friday following which the money trail was traced and the particular bank was contacted to block the amount.

Kozhikode-based Radhakrishnan received a WhatsApp video call from his former colleague who worked with him in Andhra Pradesh.

Scammers are using innovative methods to dupe people of their money. "The scammers used an AI-based video interface to impersonate his friend and sought money," Cyber Wing SP, Hari Sankar told PTI.

Sankar said Radhakrishnan saw one of his former colleague on video call and responded accordingly.

"However, when he received another call seeking more money, he contacted the person directly and found out that he was scammed. Radhakrishnan contacted us immediately and we were able to block the amount," Sankar said.

The Cyber Wing official urged the public to contact the Kerala Cyber Help Line number '1930' in case of suspicion of any such phone calls.

He said the scammers used a basic AI-based video interface which could only be used with blurred background and basic chin, eyes and lip movement.