The Reserve Bank of India issued a warning to investors on Tuesday regarding fraudulent “deepfake” videos of the governor being shared on social media. These videos falsely claim the launch or endorsement of certain investment schemes by the central bank.
In an official statement, the RBI advised the public to be cautious of “deepfake videos of Top Management” circulating on social media, offering financial guidance. The central bank emphasized that these videos, produced using sophisticated technology, are not genuine and reiterated that the RBI does not provide any form of financial investment advice.
“It has come to the notice of Reserve bank of India that fake videos of the Governor are being circulated in social media that claim launch of or support to some investment schemes by the RBI. These videos attempt to advise people to invest their money in such schemes, through use of technological tools. The RBI clarifies that its officials are not involved in or support any such activities and these videos are fake. RBI does not give any such financial investment advice. Members of the public are, therefore, cautioned against engaging with and falling prey to such deepfake videos circulated over social media,” the central bank said in a notification.
In July this year, the Bombay High Court had directed social media platforms to take measures against deepfake videos featuring the MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange providing stock advice.
Following this, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) released an advisory urging investors to be cautious of counterfeit deepfake videos featuring its MD and CEO, Ashishkumar Chauhan, promoting stocks. Various instances have occurred where fabricated videos of prominent business figures endorsing stocks and sharing business insights circulated on social platforms. These videos, created through Artificial Intelligence, are misleading and should not be trusted.
Earlier this month, two residents of Bengaluru fell victim to deepfake videos featuring Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, resulting in a loss of Rs 87 lakh in an online share trading scam. The cases were confirmed by the police.
In one instance, Veena K G, a 57-year-old resident of Banashankari in Bengaluru, reported to the South CEN crime police that she lost Rs 67.1 lakh between September 23 and October 20. She came across a video on Facebook where Murthy appeared to be endorsing the ‘FX Road’ platform for stock investments.
Trusting the authenticity of the video, Veena engaged with the post, leading to contact with an individual via email who encouraged her to invest for high returns. Initially, she invested Rs 1.4 lakh using her credit card and saw a small profit of Rs 8,363, prompting her to invest an additional Rs 6.7 lakh. However, she did not receive any profits the second time, as per her statement to the police.
In the second case, Asok Kumar T S, a 63-year-old resident of Rajapura in Bengaluru Rural, was defrauded of Rs 19 lakh by scammers over a span of four months, from May 30 to October 3. Kumar came across videos on Facebook featuring individuals claiming to be “Narayana Murthy” and “Mukesh Ambani” endorsing the ‘FX Road.com’ trading platform. Trusting these endorsements to be legitimate, he proceeded to open an account and transferred Rs 19 lakh through several transactions to two bank accounts provided by the scammers. Sadly, Kumar did not receive any returns or refunds despite his investments, as he informed the authorities.