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A 45-year-old woman in Kerala’s Kozhikode district has allegedly lost ₹49.20 lakh in an online trading fraud after responding to a fake Facebook video featuring Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The video falsely portrayed the finance minister promoting online trading as an opportunity to earn substantial returns. Believing the endorsement to be genuine, the woman followed a link accompanying the video and began transferring money on the instructions of suspected fraudsters.
Kozhikode Rural Cyber Crime Police registered a case on November 11 following her complaint. Investigators are now tracing the bank accounts that received the money and attempting to freeze the suspected fraud proceeds.
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Fake Finance Minister Video Leads To Months Of Financial Transfers
The complainant, a resident of Maikkavu in Thamarassery, reportedly encountered the fraudulent video while browsing Facebook.
According to police, the clip appeared to show Sitharaman explaining how people could earn attractive returns through online trading. The apparent involvement of a senior government official gave the promotion an impression of legitimacy.
After clicking the accompanying link, the woman began making investments according to instructions provided by the suspected fraudsters.
Between July 15 and September 22, she transferred ₹49.20 lakh from her accounts with the State Bank of India and Puthuppadi Service Cooperative Bank.
The money went into several bank accounts specified by the accused.
However, the promised returns never materialised. The operators also failed to return her original investment, prompting her to approach the police.
The case illustrates how a fraudulent endorsement can lead to prolonged financial exploitation. Rather than relying on a single payment, investment scammers often maintain contact with victims and encourage increasingly substantial transfers.
Police have not disclosed the identity of the suspected operators or the exact trading platform used in this case.
What Is A Deepfake And Why Is It Used In Investment Scams?
Deepfakes are digitally manipulated images, audio recordings or videos that make people appear to say or do things they never actually did.
Artificial intelligence can help reproduce a person’s voice, facial movements and appearance. Criminals can use this technology to create convincing but fabricated endorsements.
For example, a fraudster may take footage from a finance minister’s genuine public speech and replace the original audio with an artificial voice promoting an investment scheme.
The resulting video may appear authentic because viewers recognise the speaker, even though the financial advice is fabricated.
The Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking unit has repeatedly warned about manipulated videos falsely depicting Sitharaman endorsing investment platforms.
Some earlier fraudulent promotions promised extraordinary monthly earnings in exchange for initial investments of around ₹22,000. The government clarified that neither the finance minister nor the Central Government had authorised those schemes.
These warnings concern similar fraudulent promotions. Investigators have not publicly confirmed whether the exact video encountered by the Kozhikode woman was among those previously identified.
Earlier Cases Reveal A Pattern Of Fake Government Endorsements
The Kozhikode investigation follows several similar cases in which criminals allegedly used fabricated videos of prominent personalities to attract investors.
In August 2026, a Pune businessman reportedly lost ₹1.07 crore after encountering a manipulated video featuring Sitharaman. The fraud subsequently involved a bogus foreign exchange trading platform and an alleged opportunity to purchase shares in Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The victim was shown apparent investment profits but faced additional payment demands when attempting to withdraw his money.
More recently, a 76-year-old retired public sector employee from Mumbai’s Borivali reportedly lost ₹2.82 crore after responding to another fabricated video featuring the finance minister.
Police said the woman made multiple transfers after being persuaded to invest through a supposed international trading platform.
These cases are separate investigations. However, they demonstrate how criminals repeatedly misuse the identities of trusted public figures to promote investment schemes that appear credible.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has also warned investors about fraudulent trading platforms that display fabricated profits and encourage payments into unrelated bank accounts.
Kerala Police Trace Bank Accounts, Seek To Freeze Fraud Proceeds
Kozhikode Rural Cyber Crime Police have registered the case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.
Investigators are examining the financial trail to identify the people controlling the accounts that received the woman’s money.
Such investigations can become complicated when criminals transfer funds through several accounts belonging to different individuals.
Authorities must establish who controlled those accounts, where the money was subsequently moved and whether any funds remain available for recovery.
Police have also reiterated their warnings against investment promotions featuring AI-generated videos of Union ministers.
The immediate priority is to trace the ₹49.20 lakh transferred by the complainant. No recovery or arrest has been confirmed in the available police account.
What This Means For You:
Never invest through links accompanying videos of politicians or celebrities without independently verifying the platform through SEBI’s investor website. If you have transferred money to a suspected fraudulent investment scheme, contact your bank immediately and report the incident through 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
