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Low reported severity Criminal Charges

Kozhikode, Kerala: police say a deepfake video call imitating a former colleague cost a retired man Rs 40,000; five later arrested

A retired Union (central) government employee in Kozhikode, Kerala, sent Rs 40,000 on 9 July 2023 after a WhatsApp video call and voice call from someone who looked like a former senior colleague and asked for money for a relative's surgery, the New Indian Express reported; Kerala cyber police traced the money and blocked the recipient account. In June 2024 Kozhikode police said the perpetrator had used AI-powered face-swapping technology to impersonate the former colleague on the video call, and that they had arrested five suspects from several states, according to Mathrubhumi.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
9 Jul 2023
Reported
17 July 2023
Event location
India
What the AI did
Communicated with the person · Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Financial Loss
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance · Relationships
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources
4 claims: 4 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: AI face-swapping (deepfake) used in a WhatsApp video call to impersonate the victim's former colleague, according to Kozhikode police (tool not identified)

What Happened

The call. According to the New Indian Express, a retired Union (central) government employee in Kozhikode received WhatsApp messages from a number whose display picture showed a former senior colleague, then a brief video call in which the caller looked like that colleague, then a voice call asking for money urgently for a relative's surgery. He sent Rs 40,000 on 9 July 2023 and became suspicious when asked for Rs 30,000 more. He complained to the cyber police, who traced the money and blocked the recipient account. At the time the station house officer said the police suspected deepfake technology and that the display picture may have been created using AI.

The arrests. In June 2024 Kozhikode police said that the perpetrator had used AI-powered face-swapping technology (deepfake) to impersonate the former colleague during the video call and that the group made fake audio and video content to commit financial fraud. Police arrested five suspects from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Hyderabad, Mathrubhumi reported.

Reported harm

According to the New Indian Express, a retired man in Kozhikode sent Rs 40,000 after a video call from someone who looked like a former colleague; police later said the caller used AI face-swapping to impersonate the colleague.

Outcome

Ongoing

Kerala cyber police traced the money and blocked the recipient account in July 2023 (the sources do not say whether it was returned). In June 2024 Kozhikode police reported arresting five suspects from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Hyderabad. No trial outcome is reported in the sources read.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI tool was used and how the police established face-swapping.
  • Whether the Rs 40,000 was returned to the victim.
  • Whether the five suspects were charged or convicted.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Kozhikode police, who investigated the complaint and arrested five suspects, said the perpetrator used AI-powered face-swapping technology to impersonate the victim's former colleague on the video call that preceded the payment (Mathrubhumi, June 2024). The faked colleague appeared to the victim and asked for money (depicted_or_impersonated, communicated_with). In July 2023 the police had described deepfake use only as a suspicion; the 2024 account does not disclose the technical basis or the tool.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported Kozhikode police said the perpetrator used AI-powered face-swapping technology (deepfake) to impersonate the victim's former colleague during a video call in which the 'former colleague' asked for money for a relative's medical treatment.

Causal attribution. Police attribution of the impersonation to AI face-swapping, made after their investigation and arrests.

  • english.mathrubhumi.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'According to police, the perpetrator used AI-powered face-swapping technology (deepfake) to impersonate a former colleague of' and 'the ‘former colleague’ (deepfake) to send money for the medical treatment of the latter’s sister.'
Reported The victim lost Rs 40,000 on 9 July 2023 after receiving a video call from a person claiming to be his former senior colleague who sought money for an emergency; cyber police traced the money and blocked the perpetrator's account.

Causal attribution. The video call is the reported means of the deception.

  • newindianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'lost Rs 40,000 soon after receiving a video call from a person claiming to be his former senior colleague and seeking money for an emergency.' and 'the money that the elderly lost on July 9 was traced and the perpetrator’s account was blocked.'
Reported In July 2023 the police said they suspected the scammers used deepfake technology to fake faces and voices, and the cyber police station officer said the display picture may have been created using AI.

Causal attribution. Early, hedged police view, superseded by the June 2024 account.

  • newindianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The police suspect the scammers are using deep fake tech to fake people’s faces and voices.' and 'It may have been created using AI,'
Reported Kozhikode police arrested five suspects from several states, describing a group that created fake audio and video content to execute financial fraud using artificial intelligence.

Causal attribution. Police account of the arrests; no conviction is reported.

  • english.mathrubhumi.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Kozhikode Police have made history by arresting an entire group involved in creating fake audio and video content to execute financial fraud using artificial intelligence.' and 'The squad successfully apprehended five suspects from their respective hometowns.'

Sources

2 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Published 22 June 2024; reports the Kozhikode police account of the arrests. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Published 17 July 2023; reports the victim's account and the cyber police station officer. Applies to s2.

Event countries: India. Affected-person countries: India. Court countries: Unknown.

Event: the victim received the calls and made the payment as a resident of Kozhikode, Kerala, and Kozhikode police investigated (New Indian Express; Mathrubhumi). No court proceeding is described.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-22: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated, communicated_with): Kozhikode police, after arresting five suspects, said the caller used AI face-swapping to impersonate the victim's former colleague on the video call that led him to pay Rs 40,000. The police's earlier view was a suspicion, which the record states. The victim and the accused are not named.

People described

A retired Union (central) government employee in Kozhikode who sent money after the video call; the sources name him, this record does not

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person, the retired man who sent Rs 40,000 (New Indian Express; Mathrubhumi). Friends who received similar messages are not counted; no loss by them is reported.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfake-video-call#impersonation#whatsapp#older-adult#kerala#police-arrests

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Kozhikode, Kerala: police say a deepfake video call imitating a former colleague cost a retired man Rs 40,000; five later arrested. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2023-kozhikode-kerala-police-say-deepfake-video-call-of-former-colleague-cost-retired-man-rs-40000-five-arrested

BibTeX

@misc{2023_kozhikode_kerala_police_say_deepfake_video_call_of_former_colleague_cost_retired_man_rs_40000_five_arrested,
  title = {Kozhikode, Kerala: police say a deepfake video call imitating a former colleague cost a retired man Rs 40,000; five later arrested},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2023-kozhikode-kerala-police-say-deepfake-video-call-of-former-colleague-cost-retired-man-rs-40000-five-arrested}
}

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