KOZHIKODE: 40000 rupees were swindled from a Kozhikode native by using the fake image of his old colleague created through AI.

Kozhikode Palazhi native PS Radhakrishnan, Retd. Senior Manager at Coal India Limited, was the one who was cheated. The picture of Radhakrishnan's old colleague, a Telugu person, was used to swindle money from him.

The culprit first called Radhakrishnan from an unknown number. He later contacted Radhakrishnan through a WhatsApp call and convinced him that he was his old colleague. He told him that his relative was admitted to a private hospital in Mumbai for surgery. The culprit then asked Radhakrishnan to urgently send Rs 40000 to his account. He then sent Radhakrishnan a video and again asked for money. Soon after Radhakrishnan sent the money, the culprit again contacted him and demanded another Rs 35000. Upon getting suspicious, Radhakrishnan called his old friend's number and realized that he was being conned.

The Andhra Pradesh native, who is actively in touch with his old colleagues through WhatsApp, is now in America with his children. The fraud group created the fake video with the help of artificial intelligence after leaking his sound and image from social media. The friends used to talk to each other in English. The culprits misused 'Deep Fake Technology' for this.

The Cyber Police said that the phone call was made from a Gujarat number. The Cyber Police have sought the help of WhatsApp authorities to find the location of the phone. This is the first fraud in Kerala committed using artificial intelligence.