Bihar man defrauded of lakhs when scammers clone his brother's voice to request urgent transfer

Summary

In Bihar, a resident of Muzaffarpur named Riyaz Ahmed was scammed out of ₹1.65 lakh by cybercriminals who used AI to clone the voice of his cousin. The fraud occurred in early 2024 and involved a scammer impersonating the victim’s cousin, who is employed in Saudi Arabia, to create a visa renewal ruse. The scammers used a fake social media account and AI-powered voice replication to deceive the victim, who transferred money after being shown a fabricated bank slip. The case was reported to the local cyber police station, and investigations are ongoing using cyber forensic techniques to trace the fraudsters' network. Authorities have issued a public advisory urging citizens to avoid suspicious calls and messages and to verify the authenticity of any financial requests. The incident highlights the growing use of AI in cybercrime and the need for increased digital security awareness.