Ahmedabad gang used AI deepfakes to bypass Aadhaar biometric checks in loan fraud
Four men were arrested in Ahmedabad for using AI deepfake videos to bypass Aadhaar biometric security and fraudulently obtain a Rs 25,000 loan in a businessman's name. An insider at a Common Service Centre allegedly exploited his access to Aadhaar systems to redirect the victim's OTPs and enable the fraud.
What happened
Four men arrested by Ahmedabad Police Cyber Crime Branch allegedly used Google's Gemini AI tool to create deepfake videos of a businessman and bypass Aadhaar biometric authentication. The gang changed the mobile number linked to his Aadhaar without OTP verification, redirecting all OTPs to a number they controlled.
The accused opened a bank account in the victim's name at Jio Payments Bank and obtained a loan of Rs 25,000. They also accessed the businessman's DigiLocker account to retrieve stored documents. One of the arrested men, who worked at a Common Service Centre, allegedly misused his access to Aadhaar systems and official kits to execute the mobile number change.
Reported impact
The businessman stopped receiving OTPs from his bank for two days before approaching police. Police found that his biometric data had been tampered with and a fraudulent bank account and loan had been created in his name.
Index analysis
The case highlights how AI-generated deepfake videos can bypass identity verification systems linked to Aadhaar e-KYC checks. Investigators noted they were surprised by the sophistication of the method used in the fraud.
Governance controls
The incident came days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired a high-level meeting with top bank officials to discuss risks posed by rapidly advancing artificial intelligence.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.