Mumbai doctor loses INR700,000 to scam involving fake Mukesh Ambani video

Dr K H Patil, a doctor based in India’s Mumbai, recently fell victim to a fraudulent scheme after being swindled out of over INR700,000 by fraudsters who used a deepfake video of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

The video showed Ambani endorsing a fictitious share 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 encountered the convincing deepfake video on Instagram in April.

Trusting the authenticity of the endorsement, the 54-year-old Ayurveda practitioner sought further information online and discovered alleged offices of the group in London and in Mumbai, which further convinced her of their legitimacy.

According to the first information report (FIR), Patil invested a total of over INR 700,000 between May and June, that gave her a profit of over INR 30,000. However, when she attempted to withdraw the profits, her attempts repeatedly failed.

Realising she had been duped, her friends advised her to approach the police.

The Oshiwara Police in Andheri registered a case against unidentified persons and are currently investigating 16 bank accounts to which she transferred money.

The police have also noted a trend of cyber scamsters exploiting social media platforms such as X, Facebook, and Instagram to lure unsuspecting investors.

A similar scam surfaced after the pre-wedding function of Anant Ambani, where scammers used images 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.