Description: Ratikanta Giri, a 29-year-old security guard in Bengaluru, India, reportedly lost ₹104,000 (~$1,085.40) after a WhatsApp video caller used a purportedly AI-generated deepfake to impersonate C. Joseph Vijay, the actor and chief minister of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The caller promised financial aid, while accomplices allegedly demanded fees and later impersonated India's Central Bureau of Investigation.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Synthetic video generation technology developers , Synthetic media generation technology developers and Deepfake technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Synthetic media creators , Scammers , Impersonation scammers , Deepfake creators , Cybercriminals in India , Cybercriminals and Scammers in India, which harmed Victims of impersonation scams , Victims of deepfake-enabled fraud , Ratikanta Giri , Public figures , Politicians in India , Politicians , Impersonated public figures , Financial scam victims , Epistemic integrity and C. Joseph Vijay.
Alleged implicated AI systems: WhatsApp , Synthetic video generation technology , Synthetic media generation technology , Messaging apps and Deepfake technology
Incident Stats
Incident ID
1711
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2026-09-09
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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BENGALURU: “I am CM Vijay. I am here to help you,” a voice and face appearing on a WhatsApp video call allegedly convinced a 29-year-old security guard that he was speaking to Tamil Nadu chief minister and actor C Joseph Vijay.
Promised Rs …
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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