Dr. KH Patil, a doctor based in Mumbai, India, recently fell victim to a fraudulent scheme after being scammed out of over INR 700,000 by scammers who used a deepfake video of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
The video showed Ambani endorsing a fictitious stock trading academy called Rajive Sharma Trade Group and encouraging people to join BCF Academy for promising investment returns. India today reported.
According to the woman's complaint to the police, Patil found the convincing deepfake video on Instagram in April.
Trusting the authenticity of the endorsement, the 54-year-old Ayurveda practitioner searched for more information online and discovered purported offices of the group in London and Mumbai, which further convinced her of its legitimacy.
According to the first information report (FIR), Patil invested a total of over INR 700,000 between May and June, giving him a profit of over INR 30,000. However, when he attempted to withdraw the winnings, his attempts repeatedly failed.
Realizing that she had been deceived, her friends advised her to go to the police.
The Oshiwara police in Andheri have registered a case against unidentified persons and are currently investigating 16 bank accounts to which he transferred money.
Police have also noticed a trend of cyber fraudsters exploiting social media platforms such as X, Facebook and Instagram to lure unsuspecting investors.
A similar scam emerged after Anant Ambani's pre-wedding function, where scammers used footage from the event to direct people to fraudulent investment platforms.
Authorities have issued a warning to the public to always verify the authenticity of investment opportunities in person and not rely solely on online information.
