Son’s voice cloned with AI, money extorted from father by fake police; 2 arrested
Photo: Collected
Special Response Battalion (SRB)-13 has arrested two people, including the ringleader of a fraud gang, in Gobindaganj of Gaibandha on charges of swindling money from a father by posing as police and cloning his son’s voice with AI technology. Various equipment used in the fraud was also seized from them.
The information was given on Saturday (26 September) afternoon in a press release signed by Biplob Kumar Goswami, additional superintendent of police of SRB-13. Earlier, on Friday evening, they were arrested from their respective homes in the Bishwanathpur Paschimpara area of Darbasta union in the upazila.
The arrestees are Sohel Mondal, 27, son of Aidul Hossain, and Helal Islam, 22, son of Hasem Ali, of that area.
The press release said that on the afternoon of 20 July, the fraudsters told Aminul Islam, who works at Natore Sadar Upazila Health Complex, over mobile phone that his younger son Tamim Al Mahi had been detained by police with drugs along with several friends. At that time, they gained Aminul Islam’s trust by speaking in a cloned version of Mahi’s voice with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Money was then demanded to get the son released.
As demanded by the fraudsters, Aminul Islam sent a total of Tk 40,000 in two instalments through the mobile financial service ‘Nagad’. Later, he realised it was a fraud after contacting his son directly. Over the incident, he filed a fraud case as plaintiff with Natore Sadar Police Station on 25 September.
The release further said that SRB began intelligence activities considering the gravity of the incident. In continuation of this, at around 7:15pm on Friday, an operational team of CPC-3, Gaibandha of SRB-13 conducted a drive at Bishwanathpur Paschimpara in Darbasta union and arrested the gang’s ringleader Sohel Mondal and his associate Helal Islam. Nine mobile phones used in the fraud, a passport and Tk 14,100 in cash were seized from their possession.
SRB said that during primary interrogation the two arrestees admitted their involvement in this type of fraud. They have been handed over to the police station concerned for further legal action.
