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Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

Pune police say a man lost Rs 43 lakh in a share-trading fraud after a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty drew him in

The Indian Express reported in August 2025 that, according to the Pune police, a man from Pune fell prey to a deepfake video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty promoting AI-based share-trading tools and lost Rs 43 lakh. According to the complaint, an Instagram advertisement promised Rs 17 lakh in 28 days on a Rs 21,000 investment and led to the video, which the probe found to be a deepfake; the video also allegedly included deepfake investor testimonials. Between February and May 2025 he received more than 120 calls from international numbers, was pressured and at times coerced into further payments, was advised to borrow from friends or take loans, and made 19 transfers totalling Rs 43.68 lakh to mule accounts before the callers stopped responding and he had exhausted his savings. The police registered an FIR after a preliminary inquiry. They do not say how they established that the video was a deepfake.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Feb 2025 to May 2025
Reported
6 August 2025
Event location
India
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Financial Loss
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
4 claims: 4 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: An unidentified tool used to produce a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty, with what were allegedly deepfake investor testimonials, promoting a share-trading platform; the police describe it as a deepfake and name no tool

What Happened

The police account. The Indian Express reported on 6 August 2025 that, according to the Pune police, a man from Pune had fallen prey to a deepfake video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty promoting AI-based share-trading tools and had lost Rs 43 lakh. The police registered a First Information Report on his complaint after a preliminary inquiry by the cybercrime police station.

The advertisement and the video. According to the complaint, he saw an Instagram advertisement promising a return of Rs 17 lakh after 28 days on an initial Rs 21,000 investment in a stock. The link led to a video of the two public figures; The Indian Express reports that the probe later revealed the video was a deepfake claiming the investment would grow through a platform using AI tools, and that it also allegedly included deepfake testimonials of investors. He transferred Rs 21,000.

The losses. A caller then welcomed him to an investment platform and asked for personal and financial details. Between February and May 2025 he received more than 120 calls from international numbers, was pressured not to seek withdrawals, was at times coerced into transfers and was advised to borrow from friends or take personal loans. He made 19 transfers totalling Rs 43.68 lakh to mule accounts; when he sought a withdrawal after exhausting his savings, the callers stopped responding.

Limits. The police do not say how they established that the video was a deepfake, and no tool is named. The loss figures are the complaint's. NDTV's later report on another Sudha Murty deepfake mentions the Pune loss in one sentence and adds no independent account.

Reported harm

According to the police account and his complaint, the man made 19 transfers totalling Rs 43.68 lakh to mule accounts between February and May 2025 and exhausted his savings.

How Harm Occurred

An Instagram advertisement led the man to a deepfake video in which two well-known public figures appeared to promote a share-trading platform; trusting it, he made an initial payment, and callers from the platform then pressured him into 19 transfers to mule accounts.

Outcome

Unknown

The police registered a First Information Report on the man's complaint after a preliminary inquiry by the cybercrime police station; no later outcome is reported in the inspected sources.

What remains unknown

  • How the police established that the video was a deepfake, and which tool produced it.
  • Who ran the advertisement and the platform, and whether any money was traced or recovered.
  • The outcome of the police investigation.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Pune police, who registered the man's complaint after a preliminary inquiry, say he fell prey to a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty promoting share-trading tools, and The Indian Express reports that the probe revealed the video he was directed to from an Instagram advertisement was a deepfake, which allegedly also included deepfake investor testimonials. The video impersonated the two public figures toward him and led him to the platform whose callers obtained his transfers. The police do not disclose how they established that the video was AI-generated or name the tool.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported Pune police said a man from Pune fell prey to a deepfake video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty promoting AI-based share trading tools and lost Rs 43 lakh to a cyber scam; the police filed an FIR on his complaint after a preliminary inquiry by the cybercrime police station.

Causal attribution. The police account as reported by The Indian Express; NDTV's later mention adds no independent source.

  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'recently fell prey to a deepfake video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and his wife Sudha Murty promoting AI-based share trading tools and lost Rs 43 lakh to a cyber scam, said the police.'; 'He subsequently approached the cybercrime police station of Pune, and after a preliminary inquiry, the police filed the FIR.'
  • ndtv.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'reportedly had fallen prey to a deepfake video of Murty and her husband, Narayana Murthy, and lost Rs 43 lakh.'
Reported According to the complaint, the man saw an Instagram advertisement promising a return of Rs 17 lakh after 28 days on an initial Rs 21,000 investment; the link led to a video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty which, The Indian Express reports, the probe later revealed was a deepfake claiming the investment would grow through a platform using AI tools, and which allegedly also included deepfake testimonials of investors.

Causal attribution. The complainant's account and the probe's finding as reported; the technical basis for calling the video a deepfake is not stated.

  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The advertisement allegedly promised a return of Rs 17 lakh after 28 days of initial investment of Rs 21,000 in a stock.'; 'The probe later revealed that it was a deepfake video that claimed that the initial investment of Rs 21,000 would grow manifold through a platform that uses AI tools for market analysis and investment strategy.'; 'The video also allegedly included deepfake testimonials of investors who claimed to have profited immensely.'
Reported According to the complaint and the police, after an initial Rs 21,000 transfer the man received more than 120 calls from international numbers between February and May 2025, was pressured and at times coerced into further transfers and advised to borrow from friends or take personal loans, and made 19 transfers totalling Rs 43.68 lakh to mule accounts before the callers stopped responding.

Causal attribution. The complainant's allegations and the police account as reported; the loss is the complaint's figure.

  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Between February and May this year, the complainant allegedly received over 120 calls from international numbers in which the callers gave him various reasons to make more transfers, at times forcing him to do so.'; 'he was advised to borrow money from friends or take personal loans.'; 'the complainant allegedly made a total of 19 transfers worth Rs 43.68 lakh to fraudulent mule accounts.'; 'the callers went incommunicado, and he realised that he had been cheated.'
Reported The man said he sought a withdrawal after exhausting all his savings.

Causal attribution. The complainant's own statement as reported.

Sources

2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

The Indian Express (Pune), 6 August 2025, reporting the police account and the FIR; the live URL returned HTTP 403 and the Internet Archive capture was read in full. Applies to s1.

NDTV, 19 December 2025, a report on a later deepfake of Sudha Murty that mentions the Pune loss in one sentence marked 'reportedly'; the live URL returned HTTP 403 and the Internet Archive capture was read in full. Grouped with The Indian Express because it adds no independent account of the Pune case. Applies to s2.

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

The Indian Express reports that the Pune police registered the FIR on the complaint of a man from Pune, and the cybercrime police station of Pune conducted the preliminary inquiry. Where the platform's callers and accounts operated is not stated.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-18: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Pune police say a man was drawn into a share-trading fraud by a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty reached through an Instagram advertisement, and lost Rs 43.68 lakh in 19 transfers between February and May 2025 after being pressured by callers. The police attribution's technical basis is undisclosed, and the loss figure is the complaint's.

People described

A man in Pune who followed an Instagram advertisement to a deepfake video of two public figures and transferred Rs 43.68 lakh to a fake share-trading platform

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person: the complainant described in the Pune police case, who lost Rs 43.68 lakh. The two depicted public figures are not counted because no response or consequence for them in this case is reported.

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

Tags

#investment_fraud#deepfake_video#fake_celebrity_endorsement#share_trading_fraud#india

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Pune police say a man lost Rs 43 lakh in a share-trading fraud after a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty drew him in. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-pune-police-say-man-lost-rs-43-lakh-after-deepfake-video-of-narayana-murthy-and-sudha-murty

BibTeX

@misc{2025_pune_police_say_man_lost_rs_43_lakh_after_deepfake_video_of_narayana_murthy_and_sudha_murty,
  title = {Pune police say a man lost Rs 43 lakh in a share-trading fraud after a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty drew him in},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-pune-police-say-man-lost-rs-43-lakh-after-deepfake-video-of-narayana-murthy-and-sudha-murty}
}

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