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Scam explainer

AI voice clone and deepfake scam also called Voice cloning scam, Family emergency call scam, Deepfake video scam

Fraudsters use AI to copy a relative's voice or a public figure's face and voice, then use the fake to push urgent payments or investments.

Conceptual illustration: A translucent synthetic head silhouette next to a phone and a luminous audio waveform splitting into two mismatched voices. Headline: THAT VOICE MAY BE FAKE.

AI-generated illustration by CyberShitty. Not a photograph or a document from the organisations named.

How it works

  1. Short clips of someone's voice or video are taken from social media or earlier calls.
  2. You get a call from an unknown number in what sounds like a family member's voice, describing an accident, arrest or kidnapping.
  3. Someone else, posing as police or a captor, takes over and demands an urgent UPI transfer and secrecy.
  4. A related version uses deepfake videos of ministers or celebrities in ads that lead to investment scams.

Red flags

  • An emergency call from a familiar voice on an unknown number.
  • Extreme urgency and instructions not to tell anyone.
  • Payment demanded by UPI to an individual's account.
  • A public figure promoting an investment or 'scheme' in a social-media video.

What to do

  • Hang up and call the person back on the number you already have, or check with another family member.
  • Agree a family code word that a caller must know.
  • If you paid, call 1930 and your bank at once and file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in.
  • Report the calling number through Chakshu on Sanchar Saathi.
  • Verify any 'government scheme' or endorsement through official sources such as PIB Fact Check.

Step-by-step guideLost money in a UPI fraud? What to do in the first hour, and how to complain on 1930

The numbers

Voice-clone fraud is reported only as individual police cases, with no official loss figure; the Chakshu relative-impersonation reports above rose sharply in 2025 (PIB). The PIB Fact Check Unit flagged deepfake Finance Minister investment videos in January and April 2026 (News On AIR).

Desk coverage

Sources

Other scamsDigital arrest scamInvestment and trading scamTask and part-time job scamUPI, QR code and collect-request fraudSextortion video call scamFake customer care number scam