Bengaluru woman loses ₹33L in deepfake scam featuring Nirmala Sitharaman
A Bengaluru woman lost over ₹33 lakh after falling for a deepfake Facebook video featuring Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promoting a trading platform.
She joined a WhatsApp group, shared her bank details, and started with an investment of ₹21,000—only to get pulled deeper into the scam.
How the scam worked
Scammers promised huge profits—claiming her money had grown to $88,000—but said she needed to pay extra taxes and fees to access it.
Over three months, she ended up making nine transfers across different banks before realizing it was all fake.
Deepfakes are getting sneakier
Experts confirmed the video's audio was artificially created.
Similar deepfake scams have popped up using faces of well-known people like Shaktikanta Das and Droupadi Murmu, all promising quick returns.
What happens next?
Police have filed a case under cybercrime laws and are investigating.
This is yet another reminder: if something online looks too good to be true—even if it features someone famous—it probably is.
Stay sharp!