Bengaluru Advocate, 80, Loses Rs 40,000 In Cyber Investment Fraud

An 80-year-old senior advocate from Bengaluru's Devanahalli has fallen victim to an alleged cyber investment fraud after reportedly being influenced by a deepfake advertisement promising profitable stock market investments.

According to the FIR registered, the complainant, D. Venkatesh, claimed that he decided to invest after watching a deepfake advertisement featuring the Union Finance Minister speaking about share market investments.

Police said the incident occurred on March 26, 2026. Around 6:38 PM, Venkatesh allegedly transferred a total of Rs 40,260 in three separate instalments through PhonePe from his State Bank of India savings account at the Devanahalli branch.

After growing suspicious about the transaction, the advocate reportedly contacted the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal helpline number 1930 and received an acknowledgement bearing number 31604260068561. Realising he had been cheated, he later approached the police seeking recovery of the money.

A case has now been registered under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2008, which deal with identity theft and cheating by personation using computer resources.

The FIR, registered on May 11, 2026, names unknown persons as the accused. Police said there was a delay in filing the formal complaint as the complainant had initially approached the bank and cyber helpline before visiting the police station.

Investigation into the case is underway.