Anna Nagar Advocate Loses Lakhs to Deepfake Nirmala Sitharaman Scheme

Sasikumar, an advocate residing in Anna Nagar, fell victim to an online financial scam after coming across a digitally manipulated video on social media that falsely claimed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had endorsed an investment platform.

The circulating advertisement promoted an initiative called 'Quantum AI', promising returns of ₹40 lakh on an initial investment of ₹22,000, along with claims of "no risk" and a "100% government guarantee". Believing the claims to be authentic, Sasikumar was contacted virtually and over the phone by unidentified individuals who persuaded him to put money into the scheme.

The fraudulent platform operated four investment plans, named Invistro, Bulliontrade, Savexa, and Proxtrend. Under the Invistro plan, Sasikumar invested ₹12 lakh. He was assigned an accounts manager named Sahab, who allegedly pressured and harassed him to make further financial commitments.

Sasikumar later invested ₹94,000 into the Bulliontrade plan and was assigned another manager, identified as Ishan Rathore. Sasikumar stated that Rathore became unreachable despite numerous messages. A third plan, Savexa, required him to deposit funds and subsequently led him to request a refund. Despite assurances that returns would be paid out monthly, Sasikumar received no money from the platform's operators, though he still believed they would transfer ₹75 lakh into his account.

Vineet Kumar, founder of the Cyber Peace Foundation, stated that the video was a deepfake generated using artificial intelligence. He confirmed that the Union Finance Minister has made no such endorsement on any official platform, adding that cyber fraudsters are increasingly deploying AI-generated media to create legitimate-looking advertisements to deceive the public.

An officer with the Cyber Crime Wing indicated that no formal police complaint regarding this specific video had been received in the State so far. In May, the Union government and the Press Information Bureau's Fact Check Unit had previously debunked a similar fake video featuring Ms. Sitharaman, advising the public to avoid clicking on promotional links promising guaranteed returns.