Voice cloning, fake couriers: How AI is supercharging Bengaluru's cybercrime

Bengaluru: Nearly 78.7 per cent of the total Rs 2,270 crore lost to cybercrimes in Bengaluru between 2021 and September 2024 — amounting to Rs 1,788 crore — was siphoned off through six major fraud categories, according to police data.

Police sources highlighted the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to execute these scams, significantly boosting their effectiveness. Investigators have struggled to recover the stolen funds, with only 20 per cent of the lost amount retrieved.

Fraud categories, losses

The largest losses were attributed to investment frauds (Rs 1,187.2 crore), followed by job frauds (Rs 601.23 crore), courier scams (Rs 165.57 crore), debit or credit card scams (Rs 116 crore), phishing (Rs 96.98 crore), and loan app frauds (Rs 32.25 crore).

A senior police official cited delayed scam reporting and sluggish bank response times as major factors hindering recovery efforts.

Until August, banks — including nationalised ones — took an average of eight days to respond to investigators' requests for account details related to cyber frauds.

“Victims rarely report fraud within the critical golden hour, which is crucial for freezing stolen funds. Coupled with banks’ delayed responses, recovering the money becomes almost impossible,” the officer explained.

To address this, the Cybercrime, Economic Offenses, and Narcotics (CEN) wing of the CID convened a meeting with major banks and RBI officials.

A CID source noted that response time has since improved to four to five days, but acknowledged that further improvement is necessary.

Scamsters are leveraging AI for voice cloning and creating advanced setups to enhance courier scams. AI-powered interfaces are also suspected to be used in fraudulent investment apps, providing scammers with a significant advantage.

Awareness & action plans

The CID officer stressed the need for awareness campaigns and better coordination between investigative agencies to curb cybercrimes.

Although Home Minister G Parameshwara announced plans for a dedicated cybercrime wing and a DGP post to tackle frauds, these proposals remain on paper only.