Nagpur Trader's Father Duped of ₹50 Lakh via Voice Cloning Scam
A Nagpur trader's father fell victim to a sophisticated voice cloning scheme, losing ₹50 lakh to fraudsters posing as a community leader.
Fraudsters used voice cloning and impersonation tactics.
The scam involved a fake emergency call requesting funds.
Cyber police have launched an investigation but no arrests yet.
In a shocking incident in Nagpur, a trader's elderly father was deceived out of ₹50 lakh by cyber fraudsters employing voice cloning technology. The incident occurred on September 26, when the victim received a call at his Hiwari Nagar home from an individual impersonating a trusted community leader, who claimed to be in a dire situation in Delhi.
According to the complaint filed by the 42-year-old trader, the caller, posing as the community leader, requested the substantial amount of money, assuring that it would be repaid promptly. The scammer provided a location in Delhi for the cash pickup and subsequently deleted the messages to cover their tracks. The family was unaware of the deception until it was too late.
The cash was collected around 5:05 PM by an individual identified as Ankit, who met with a family representative at Chandni Chowk in Delhi. Following the transaction, the phone numbers used by the fraudsters became unreachable, raising suspicions within the family. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the numbers did not belong to the community leader, confirming the fraudulent nature of the call.
On October 10, the cyber police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the unidentified fraudsters for cheating and criminal conspiracy, as well as violations of the Information Technology Act. Investigators are currently working to trace the two WhatsApp numbers linked to the scam and are pursuing leads to identify the suspects involved.
Authorities suspect that the scam was a targeted phishing operation, utilizing social engineering tactics alongside advanced voice cloning technology to manipulate the victim. This incident highlights the growing threat of cyber fraud and the need for increased awareness and protective measures against such sophisticated scams.
