A woman in Pune lost over Rs 4 lakh after falling victim to a deepfake video of Ratan Tata promoting bogus investment opportunities, highlighting rising concerns over AI-driven impersonation scams in India.
A 38-year-old woman in Pune was allegedly cheated out of Rs 4.09 lakh after being drawn in by a deepfake video of industrialist Ratan Tata on Instagram, according to police. The clip promised strong returns from share trading and appears to be part of a wider wave of investment scams that use artificial intelligence to imitate well-known public figures.
Police said the woman, Vaishali Swapnil Jagdale, watched the video sometime between October 9, 2024 and June 13, 2025. After clicking through to a linked advertisement, she downloaded an application and was later contacted on Microsoft Teams by a person calling himself Manu Mohan, who allegedly persuaded her that the scheme was genuine and urged her to move money into multiple bank accounts linked to different UPI IDs.
Jagdale transferred a total of Rs 4,09,100 from her account with Thane Janta Sahakari Bank before realising she had been deceived and approaching the police. Investigators have registered a case against those behind the online link and the beneficiaries of the bank accounts under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66(d) of the Information Technology Act, and are trying to identify the account holders and trace the operators of the fake trading app.
The case fits a pattern that has alarmed Indian authorities and business leaders. Ratan Tata previously warned that fabricated videos bearing his image were being used to promote bogus investment schemes, while other reported cases in Pune and elsewhere have involved deepfakes of figures including Narendra Modi, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty. The growing use of such content has intensified calls for stronger action against online misinformation and impersonation fraud.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
