What happened
Delhi Police's Southwest District Cyber Unit arrested eleven individuals for orchestrating an AI-driven investment scam that used deepfake technology to create fake videos of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman endorsing fraudulent investment schemes. The scammers, operating on behalf of international cybercriminals based in Cambodia, set up fake call centres and mule accounts to fleece investors of ₹22.67 lakh. In a separate incident, a victim in Khammam lost ₹33.5 lakh to a similar deepfake-FM stock scam. The irony is remarkable: in a country where the real Finance Minister's economic assurances are increasingly met with scepticism, a computer-generated version of her was apparently more persuasive. India has achieved a new milestone — the Finance Minister's AI clone has a better conversion rate than her actual budget speeches. The Cambodia connection adds a chef's kiss: India's financial fraud ecosystem has been outsourced to Southeast Asia, completing the offshoring circle.