Sunil Mittal exposes AI scam, says “my voice was perfectly articulated” in cloning attempt
New Delhi, Oct 21: Scammers often use AI voice clones to con commoners to transfer money or disclose financial information but it's rare when they try to impersonate a billionaire. This is exactly what scammers tried to do by cloning telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal's voice to scam his executive in Dubai to transfer money.
Fortunately, the executive was smart enough to realise Mittal won't ask for such a huge money transfer and the scam was stopped in its tracks.
On Monday, speaking at the NDTV World Summit, Mittal cited the incident to caution people about the risks posed by misuse of emerging technologies like AI.
Mittal recounted how the said executive stationed in Dubai received a fraudulent call that seemed to mimic his voice and tone and directed that a large fund transfer be done.
The official who was vigilant and "sensible" immediately realised it was a scam, Mittal said admitting that when he heard the voice recording himself he was completely "stunned" as "it was perfectly articulated just as I would speak".
"And anyone who would not have been vigilant may have done something about it," Mittal said and warned that in future misuse of technology would enable fraudsters to go a step ahead and misuse digital signatures, even replicate faces on zoom calls to perpetrate such acts.
"We'll have to protect our societies from the evils of AI, and yet we have to use the goodness of AI, because those companies, and nations that will not adopt AI will be left behind. So this is a conundrum for every time you get a new technology into place, there are pluses and minuses. I remain very optimistic about the benefit of AI that the human race will achieve and be able to do jobs which are otherwise very difficult to perform," Mittal said.
It is pertinent to mention here that advent of tech era, powered by AI and digital tools, has armed economies and businesses with transformative powers. That said, it is also being misused blatantly by online scammers and fraudsters to dupe unsuspecting public.
There are umpteen instances of fraudsters nudging victims to click on malicious links, or using deepfakes and voice cloning for scams.
The sophisticated web of AI-powered deceit makes it harder to spot online scams, and fraudsters have been known to clone and mimic a person’s voice from even short audio clips nicked from video a person may have uploaded online.
Scammers then leverage the AI-cloned voice to pose as the person and demand money from friends and family.
At the same time, scammers are also using 'digital arrest' modus operandi, where they place audio or video calls, falsely pose as law enforcement officers, and use online intimidation to confine victims to their homes for extortion.
These elaborate and sophisticated scams involve cybercriminals using fake documents, replicating virtual courtroom or police stations as a backdrop, to place victims under 'digital arrest'.
Recently, SP Oswal, chairman and managing director of Vardhman Group was defrauded of Rs 7 crore by a gang which posed as officials from various government agencies.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
