Associated Incidents
A 57-year-old resident of CV Raman Nagar in Bengaluru was allegedly defrauded of Rs 3.75 crore after being tricked by fraudsters using an AI-generated deepfake video of spiritual leader Sadhguru.
According to the complaint filed at a cyber police station in Bengaluru, the victim, unaware of deepfake technology, was convinced to invest in an online trading platform.
In the video, a Sadhguru lookalike claimed that he had been trading with a particular online firm and encouraged viewers to click a link and pay USD 250 to improve their finances. The link also requested the victim's name, email, and phone number.
Following this, she was contacted by a company representative and began investing in the platform. Between February and April, the woman transferred a total of Rs 3,75,72,121 from her bank accounts into the trading application.
She realised she had been duped only when she could not withdraw any profits. Police have registered a case and are investigating the matter under cybercrime provisions.
In another incident from August, former Karnataka BJP MLA from Aurad, Gundappa Vakil, lost nearly Rs 30.99 lakh to a sophisticated "digital arrest" scam.
Scammers impersonated officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and even a judge, accusing Vakil of being linked to a money laundering case involving Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal.
The fraudsters staged a fake online court hearing and warned Vakil not to disconnect the call. Believing the claims, he transferred Rs 10 lakh initially, and later Rs 20 lakh more, allegedly needed for a property-related investigation. He was assured the money would be returned, but it never was. Following his complaint, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) Cyber Crime Police in Bengaluru have launched an investigation.