The onset of the technological era has increased cyber fraud in the world. Due to the availability of smartphones and the increase in online payment facilities, cases of cyber scams have surged in India. Fraudsters cheat people of their money through several tricks such as OTP scams, Google Maps, fake bank employees, SMS and many more. Nowadays, scammers have devised a new way to con people. They have now targeted the WhatsApp video call feature to carry out their scams. In this method, the scammers video call you from an unknown number. If you accept the call, then on your screen you will be able to see the face of your close relative. It can be your husband, father, mother, close friend or anyone. The scammers, with the help of AI, can now generate the same face and voice as your close relatives and video call you. Usually, they ask for money by stating their need and you trust them after talking the video call, hence leading to the transaction of money.
The Cyber Crime Advisor of Delhi Police, Kislay Choudhary said that in the last month, many cases of fraud through WhatsApp video calls have come to light in Delhi. In one case, he shared, a woman received a video call from a new number on WhatsApp. Her husband’s picture and voice were on the call. He asked his wife to immediately transfer Rs 2 lakh, which the woman did. According to The Future Crime Research Foundation (FCRF), an organisation associated with IIT Kanpur, 18 per cent of such cases are being committed from Bharatpur, Rajasthan, while Mathura Uttar Pradesh ( UP) comes second.
Similarly, there was a case in which a man received a video call from his close friend, whose picture and voice were present in the call and asked for Rs 85,000. He transferred the money and became the victim of cyber fraud. One of the main features of this new technique is that due to video calls, people tend to trust easily and transfer a huge amount of money.
Kislay Choudhary explains that cyber criminals first gather complete information about their target from social media. After that, they collect the face and voice of someone through AI technology. He also shares the preventive measures, which people must keep in mind to avoid being the victim of cyber fraud. He asks people to be careful if they receive a video call from a new number. It is advised to always disconnect such calls and make a normal call first on that number to confirm the person’s identity.
