Deepfake Scam Using Nirmala Sitharaman's Image Defrauds Senior Citizen of ₹7.9 Lakh

Severity: High (Score: 64.5)

Sources: Deccanchronicle

Summary

A 76-year-old man from Belagavi, Karnataka, was defrauded of ₹7.9 lakh in an online investment scam involving a deepfake video of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The victim, Prakash Gubbi, was misled by a YouTube video that falsely endorsed an investment scheme. After clicking a link in the video, he was contacted by a scammer who posed as Adarsh Anand and convinced him to invest. Initially, Gubbi saw profits but was later asked to pay additional fees to withdraw his funds. The police registered a case on May 1, 2026, and are investigating the incident. Authorities warned the public about the dangers of deepfake technology and advised skepticism towards unrealistic investment offers. Key Points: • A senior citizen lost ₹7.9 lakh due to a deepfake video scam involving a government official. • The scam utilized a realistic AI-generated video to gain the victim's trust. • Law enforcement emphasizes the importance of digital literacy and caution against too-good-to-be-true schemes.

Key Entities

• Phishing (attack_type)
• T1566.002 - Spearphishing Link (mitre_attack)
• YouTube (company)