Ayurveda doctor loses Rs 7 lakh in trading scam, falls prey to Mukesh Ambani's deepfake video

Mumbai: In a case of cyber fraud utilizing deep fake technology, a 54-year-old Ayurveda doctor from Andheri has been swindled out of more than Rs 7 lakh in a share trading scam.

According to the police, the doctor fell victim after she was lured in by an Instagram reel featuring a deepfake video of industrialist Mukesh Ambani endorsing a company called 'Rajiv Sharma Trade Group' and its BCF Investment Academy, promising high returns. 

However, the doctor invested her money when she researched the company online and noticed that it had offices in BKC and London. Convinced by the deep fake video of Ambani, she made an investment and lost the amount accordingly. 

Also read- Fact Check: Viral Video Claims Cardiologist Dr Devi Shetty Attacked On Live TV, Turns Out To Be Deepfake

As per a TOI news report, the incident took place between May 28 and June 10 she transferred a total of Rs 7.1 lakh to 16 different bank accounts after being encouraged by the deep fake video. However, when attempting to withdraw the sum of Rs 30 lakh, which was displayed on the trading platform as the profit she had gained from her initial investment, she became aware that she was defrauded. 

Following this, she approached the Oshiwara police on Wednesday and filed an FIR against an unidentified person under the IPC sections for impersonation and cheating and under the IT Act section for identity theft

Police said, "The scammers had used deepfake technology to create the video. We are in touch with nodal officers of banks to block the money that she was made to transfer."

This incident marks the second time a deep fake video of Ambani has been circulated on social media. Earlier in March, a similar video showed Ambani encouraging viewers to follow his "student Veenit" on social media for free investment advice. 

Deepfake videos, which use artificial intelligence to create hyper-realistic but fake video content, are becoming increasingly prevalent. Medical Dialogues team had just a month back reported a viral video featuring a person resembling senior diabetologist Dr V Mohan. In the video, the person resembling Dr V Mohan was claiming that a drug can cure diabetes in less than 48 hours.

Dr Mohan flagged the video as 'fake' highlighting how such social media clips generated by artificial intelligence (AI) can affect the healthcare system. While on the video, the person resembling Dr Mohan could be speaking in Hindi, pointing out that the video is fake, the senior diabetologist mentioned that he never learned Hindi.

Dr Mohan had complained about this video back in November 2023 before the cyber security cell of Tamil Nadu police. Thereafter, the officials had removed the video. However, last month, the doctor alleged that the video was back again.

In yet another incident last month, a video featuring renowned cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty along with a news anchor started making rounds on social media. In the clip, Dr Shetty was shown promoting a joint pain relief medication claiming that the concerned drug could provide relief from joint pain within three days. However, the viral video was later reported to be "deepfake" content.

Also read- Menace Of Medical Deepfakes Attacking India's Top Doctors, Dr Naresh Trehan Becomes The Latest Victim