Skip to main content
NOPE
Low reported severity Criminal Charges

Natore, Bangladesh: callers told a health-complex employee that his son had been arrested with drugs, then used an AI-cloned copy of the son's voice to win his trust and took Tk 40,000; two men were arrested in Gaibandha in September 2026

According to a press release from Special Response Battalion-13 (SRB-13), relayed by Ajker Patrika, DBC News and NTV, on 20 July 2026 a man who works at the Natore Sadar upazila health complex received a call saying that his younger son had been arrested by police with drugs. The callers then used AI to imitate the son's voice so that the father believed the story, and demanded money to get the son released. He sent a total of Tk 40,000 in two payments through the mobile financial service Nagad, and realised it was a fraud when he reached his son directly. He filed a fraud case at Natore Sadar police station on 25 September 2026. That evening SRB-13 arrested two men, described as the ring's leader and an associate, at their homes in Gobindaganj, Gaibandha, seizing nine mobile phones, a passport and Tk 14,100 in cash; SRB says they admitted involvement during initial questioning and handed them to the police for further legal action, and NTV reports they were sent to Gaibandha district jail through the court on 26 September.

AI system
Unidentified voice-cloning tool
Occurred
20 Jul 2026
Reported
26 September 2026
Event location
Bangladesh
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 · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account
3 claims: 3 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: An unidentified AI voice tool used by fraudsters to imitate the son's voice during a fake-arrest call (per SRB-13)

What Happened

The call. SRB-13's account, as reported by DBC News (26 September 2026), is that around midday on 20 July a call reached the personal phone of a man working at the Natore Sadar upazila health complex. The caller said his younger son had been arrested by police with drugs while with friends. Using AI, the fraudsters spoke in a voice exactly like the son's and gained the father's trust, then demanded money to free him. He paid a total of Tk 40,000 in two instalments through Nagad, a mobile financial service, and confirmed it was a fraud when he contacted his son directly. Ajker Patrika and NTV give the same sequence.

Complaint and arrests. The father gathered information himself and filed a fraud case at Natore Sadar police station on 25 September. SRB-13 traced the suspects and, at about 7.15 pm on 25 September, a team from CPC-3 of SRB-13 arrested two men at their homes in Gobindaganj upazila, Gaibandha. One is described as the ring's leader. Nine mobile phones, a passport and Tk 14,100 in cash were seized. The SRB-13 press release, signed by its media wing's senior assistant director, says the two admitted involvement and were handed to the police station concerned for further legal action. NTV's report describes the arrests as being for obtaining money while posing as a government official with AI, but the incident it then describes is the same fake-arrest call.

What is not known. The reports do not say which AI tool was used, how the son's voice was obtained, whether the arrested men are accused of other frauds, or whether any money was recovered for the father. All three reports rest on one SRB-13 press release.

Reported harm

A father lost Tk 40,000 after fraudsters used an AI-cloned copy of his son's voice to support a false claim that the son had been arrested (SRB-13 via Ajker Patrika, DBC News and NTV).

Outcome

Ongoing

The father filed a fraud case at Natore Sadar police station on 25 September 2026 (DBC News gives case number 59). On the evening of 25 September SRB-13 arrested two men aged 27 and 22 at their homes in Bishwanathpur Paschimpara, Darbasta union, Gobindaganj, Gaibandha, and seized nine mobile phones, a passport and Tk 14,100. SRB says they admitted involvement in initial questioning; they were handed to the relevant police station for further legal action (SRB-13 press release via Ajker Patrika, DBC News and NTV). According to the officer in charge of Gobindaganj police station, the two were sent to Gaibandha district jail through the court on 26 September (NTV). No charge sheet is reported.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI tool was used and how the son's voice was obtained.
  • Whether the arrested men are accused of other frauds, and whether any of the Tk 40,000 was recovered.
  • Whether a charge sheet has been filed.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. SRB-13 says the callers used AI technology to imitate the son's voice and spoke to the father in it (DBC News; Ajker Patrika; NTV). The AI-generated voice was the channel through which the father was spoken to (communicated_with), and it impersonated his son (depicted_or_impersonated). No forensic detail or tool is reported.

3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported On 20 July 2026 a man working at the Natore Sadar upazila health complex received a call saying his younger son had been arrested by police with drugs.

Causal attribution. SRB-13 account relayed by several outlets (one chain).

  • dbcnews.tv(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'এসআরবি-এর ভাষ্যমতে, গত ২০ জুলাই দুপুরে নাটোর সদর উপজেলা স্বাস্থ্য কমপ্লেক্সে কর্মরত'
  • ajkerpatrika.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'র‍্যাব জানায়, গত ২০ জুলাই নাটোর সদর উপজেলা স্বাস্থ্য কমপ্লেক্সে কর্মরত'
Reported The callers used AI to imitate the son's voice to gain the father's trust and demanded money to free the son; he paid a total of Tk 40,000 in two payments through Nagad and realised it was a fraud when he reached his son.

Causal attribution. SRB-13's account of the fraud; the use of AI is SRB's description and no tool or forensic finding is reported.

  • dbcnews.tv(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'প্রতারকরা এআই প্রযুক্তি ব্যবহার করে হুবহু তার ছেলের কণ্ঠে কথা বলে'; 'এরপর ছেলেকে ছাড়িয়ে আনতে টাকা দাবি করা হয়।'; 'তিনি দুই দফায় মোট ৪০ হাজার টাকা মোবাইল ফাইন্যান্সিয়াল সার্ভিস (এমএফএস) নগদে প্রতারকদের হাতে তুলে দেন।'
  • ntvbd.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'এরপর এআই প্রযুক্তির সাহায্যে তার ছেলের কণ্ঠ নকল করে কথা বলে বিশ্বাস স্থাপন করে এবং ছেলেকে ছাড়িয়ে নেওয়ার নামে দুই দফায় নগদ’র মাধ্যমে ৪০ হাজার টাকা হাতিয়ে নেয়।'
Reported He filed a fraud case at Natore Sadar police station on 25 September 2026, and that evening SRB-13 arrested two men at their homes in Gobindaganj, Gaibandha, seizing nine mobile phones, a passport and Tk 14,100; SRB says they admitted involvement in initial questioning.

Causal attribution. SRB-13 press release; admissions in initial questioning are SRB's statement and not a court finding.

  • dbcnews.tv(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'গত ২৫ সেপ্টেম্বর নাটোর সদর থানায় একটি প্রতারণা মামলা করেন, যার নম্বর ৫৯।'; 'প্রাথমিক জিজ্ঞাসাবাদে তারা প্রতারণার সঙ্গে নিজেদের সম্পৃক্ততার কথা স্বীকার করেছে বলে জানিয়েছে এসআরবি।'
  • ajkerpatrika.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'তাঁদের কাছ থেকে নয়টি মুঠোফোন, একটি পাসপোর্ট ও নগদ ১৪ হাজার ১০০ টাকা জব্দ করা হয়েছে।'
  • ntvbd.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'মামলার পর তথ্যপ্রযুক্তির সহায়তায় অবস্থান শনাক্ত করে গোবিন্দগঞ্জে অভিযান চালিয়ে তাদের গ্রেপ্তার করে এসআরবি।'
  • ntvbd.com(opens in new tab) context · Bangla
    'শনিবার (২৬ সেপ্টেম্বর) দুপুরে আদালতের মাধ্যমে গ্রেপ্তারদের গাইবান্ধা জেলা কারাগারে পাঠানো হয়েছে।'

Sources

3 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

Read live in Bengali on 2026-10-01 (DBC News Gaibandha correspondent, 26 September 2026); relays the SRB-13 press release. Researcher translation. Applies to s1.

Read live in Bengali on 2026-10-01 (Ajker Patrika Gaibandha correspondent, 26 September 2026); relays the SRB-13 press release. Researcher translation. Applies to s2.

Read live in Bengali on 2026-10-01 (NTV Gobindaganj correspondent, 27 September 2026); relays SRB-13. Researcher translation. Applies to s3.

Event countries: Bangladesh. Affected-person countries: Bangladesh. Court countries: Bangladesh.

The father works at the Natore Sadar upazila health complex and filed the case at Natore Sadar police station; the suspects were arrested in Gobindaganj, Gaibandha (DBC News; Ajker Patrika; NTV); NTV reports they were sent to jail through a court on 26 September.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-01: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: an AI-imitated voice of a family member used to deceive a father into paying money. The account is SRB-13's press release, relayed by DBC News, Ajker Patrika and NTV. The father, son and arrested men are named in reports and not named here.

People described

A man who works at the Natore Sadar upazila health complex in Bangladesh, whose younger son's voice was imitated (both named in reports; not named here)

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person, the father who paid Tk 40,000 (SRB-13 via DBC News, Ajker Patrika, NTV). The son whose voice was imitated is not reported to have been harmed and is not counted. Exact 1.

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

Tags

#voice-cloning#fake-arrest-scam#impersonation#mobile-money#bangladesh#natore#gaibandha#arrest

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Natore, Bangladesh: callers told a health-complex employee that his son had been arrested with drugs, then used an AI-cloned copy of the son's voice to win his trust and took Tk 40,000; two men were arrested in Gaibandha in September 2026. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-natore-father-ai-cloned-son-voice-fake-arrest-call-gaibandha-arrests

BibTeX

@misc{2026_natore_father_ai_cloned_son_voice_fake_arrest_call_gaibandha_arrests,
  title = {Natore, Bangladesh: callers told a health-complex employee that his son had been arrested with drugs, then used an AI-cloned copy of the son's voice to win his trust and took Tk 40,000; two men were arrested in Gaibandha in September 2026},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-natore-father-ai-cloned-son-voice-fake-arrest-call-gaibandha-arrests}
}

Related cases

Medium Unidentified voice-cloning tool

Picos, Piauí, Brazil: a digital influencer lost more than R$56,000 when fraudsters sent him audio messages in his uncle's AI-cloned voice 'confirming' a car he was buying in Fortaleza

On Monday 10 August 2026 a digital influencer from Picos, in the centre-south of Piauí, began negotiating a car advertised online for sale in Fortaleza (Ceará), where an uncle of his lives, and asked the sellers to take the car to the uncle so he could inspect it. On Tuesday 11 August a contact using a different number but the uncle's photo sent him audio messages in a voice identical to his uncle's, generated with artificial intelligence, saying the car was in good condition and telling him to make the bank transfer. Believing he was speaking to his uncle, he transferred the money; when he then called the uncle's real number he learned he had been defrauded. The loss exceeded R$56,000, money he says he had saved for years. He registered a police report on 11 August; the Piauí property-crimes unit (Depatri) is investigating and he is seeking a refund from the banks. The account is the victim's own, reported by G1 Piauí on 13 August 2026 from his social-media posts and an interview; the police unit did not respond to G1 before publication.

High Unidentified voice-cloning tool

Khulna: a businessman paid Tk3.5 crore for old jute-mill machinery after WhatsApp calls in a voice presented as National Parliament Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul's, which the complaint and Khulna DB police describe as cloned with AI; four to five people arrested, the prime accused confessed

Khulna Gazette, the Daily Times of Bangladesh, Newsbangla24 and BD Today (all 29 September 2026) report from the first information report and Khulna Metropolitan Police Detective Branch (DB) statements that a businessman in Khulna city was joined on 29 July 2026 to a WhatsApp group call with a person introduced as National Parliament Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul, who discussed the sale of old machinery from Platinum Jute Mill and asked for advance payment. The businessman handed over Tk2 crore in cash that afternoon to men sent as representatives and a further Tk1.5 crore after inspecting the mill (30 July per Khulna Gazette and BD Today; 2 August per the Daily Times of Bangladesh and Newsbangla24), a total of Tk3.5 crore. When the businessman met the Whip in person in Khulna on 1 September, the Whip disclaimed any knowledge of it. The complaint filed on 18 September under the Cyber Security Act says the caller's voice had been changed with digital technology and artificial intelligence to pass as the Whip's; the DB deputy commissioner described the case to Asia Post as fraud by imitating the Whip's voice through AI. A press release from the Khulna city BNP media cell, sent on 4 September and published by Jaijaidin on 5 September, had already said a ring was using a US number and AI to clone the Whip's voice and demand money. Police arrested four people, recovered Tk12 lakh, and the prime accused gave a confessional statement before a magistrate on 28 September; on 29 September a court added two more detained men to the case. The voice-cloning tool is not identified and no forensic finding has been reported.

Medium Unidentified voice-cloning tool

Attica, Greece: a fraud ring cloned relatives' voices with AI to 'confirm' fake fibre-installation instructions; two collectors arrested in Nea Ionia with €30,000 of a victim's valuables, at least six cases since July 2026

On 18 September 2026 the Hellenic Police announced that its Organised Crime Directorate had dismantled a criminal organisation, active since at least early July 2026, whose members defrauded and robbed residents of Attica by posing on the phone as staff of the electricity distributor ΔΕΔΔΗΕ, mobile operators or fibre-optic installers. When a target hesitated, the callers asked for a relative's phone number, called that relative under a mobile-operator pretext to obtain a voice sample, cloned the voice with an AI tool and then played the cloned voice to the target to 'confirm' the instructions. Two men aged 23 and 25, described as the ring's 'collectors', were arrested in Nea Ionia just after removing valuables worth €30,000 from a victim's home; the case file, covering criminal organisation, fraud and aggravated theft with proceeds above €120,000, names four more people. Police have so far confirmed at least five further cases with the same method and estimate the group's total proceeds above €1 million. The two arrested were brought before the prosecutor and referred to an investigating judge.

High Unidentified voice-cloning tool (suspected)

Hong Kong police report a victim lost over HK$10 million after a WhatsApp voice message from a hijacked account imitated the victim's father, reportedly with deepfake voice technology

Hong Kong police said on their CyberDefender social media page, reported on 29 July 2026, that a victim received a WhatsApp voice message from the victim's father's hijacked account asking for an urgent transfer of HK$1 million to a friend. The voice and manner of speech were very similar to the father's, and the victim made the transfer, then a further HK$2 million requested the same way, then payments to several bank accounts on different pretexts, until the savings account was empty. The victim realised the fraud only after police made contact, with a reported total loss of more than HK$10 million. Police said scammers in WhatsApp hijackings may use AI to fake the voices of people close to the victim, and outlets that published reports on 30 and 31 August 2026 of a police briefing described the case as one involving a deepfake voice message imitating the father, while one outlet said the deepfake use was suspected. No source reports analysis of the audio. The loss and the voice characterisation rest on police statements relayed by outlets, and the month of July 2026 rests on one outlet.

If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available. Find a helpline near you at Signpost.

Back to all incidents