Mumbai woman loses 700,000 rupees in love scam using her neighbor’s artificial voice recognition

Police have arrested a 37-year-old woman for cheating her neighbour of nearly Rs 700,000 by using an artificial intelligence (AI) generated male voice. The accused, Rashmi Kar, works in a call centre in Navi Mumbai. She cheated the victim along with her husband, who is now on the run.
How did the fraud come about?
The victim, a 34-year-old widow, told Kar that she was looking for a better job opportunity. About seven months ago, Kar gave her the phone number of a colleague – Abhimanyu Mehra, who allegedly wanted to help her find a better job.

The victim and Mehra started chatting on the phone. Soon they developed a romantic relationship. Although she never met Mehra in person, the woman transferred Rs 660,000 to him.

The victim told police that he changed the subject every time she tried to persuade Mehra to meet him in person. Mehra also gifted her a blanket, saying it was a gift from him and that she should “use it while sleeping to feel close to him,” said senior inspector Rahul Patil of Kashigaon police.

The victim became suspicious and eventually contacted the police. During the investigation, Kar admitted that she had used a voice generated by an app to call the victim. She also revealed that she had downloaded a voice-changing app and was communicating with the victim using a number obtained specifically for this purpose.

Police said Kar’s husband Dipanjal Biswas knew about her voice imitation and encouraged her to do the act.

What are AI voice scams?
AI voice scams use AI to imitate human-like voices. In most cases, scammers pretend to be family members, friends, or customer service representatives. Listen for any irregularities in the voice, request a video call to confirm your identity, and more to stay safe.