Indore News: ‘Deep Fake’ Tech Used To Extort ₹1 lakh City Family

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Probably in the first deep fake case in the state, cyber criminals allegedly used a fake kidnapping video of a “missing” class X student to demand Rs 1 lakh from his family, the police said on Wednesday.

THE CASE

The class X student lives in the MIG area of the city. On February 2, he left home for coaching classes but did not return home. As hours passed, his anxious parents started looking for him.

When they could not locate him, the family shared his photograph and phone number on social media, hoping for help. Later, they also lodged a missing complaint at the MIG police station. On February 3, the parents received a video call from an unknown number.

The caller’s face was partly hidden and during the call, they saw a boy (who looked like their son) appeared to be held captive, while the caller made stabbing gestures with a knife and threatened to kill him if money was not paid. Fearing for their child’s life, the parents paid Rs 1.02 lakh to the accused.

Truth revealed

On February 4, when the boy contacted a friend and informed him about his whereabouts, his parents came to know that they were duped. The harassed family approached the crime branch.  

Additional DCP (crime) Rajesh Dandotiya said a probe has been initiated on a complaint made through the cyber helpline 1930. Initial findings suggest the video call came from a UK-based number while the money trail leads to India. Police believe deepfake technology may have been used, making this possibly the first such extortion case reported in the city.