BSE warns of repeated deepfake videos impersonating CEO
Deepfake videos falsely showing BSE's CEO offering investment advice and promoting stock tips have circulated repeatedly on social media and messaging platforms. BSE confirmed this is the fourth such incident in four months and warned investors to avoid the fraudulent content, stating it is taking action to remove the videos and pursue legal proceedings against those responsible.
What happened
Fraudulent deepfake videos circulating on social media and messaging platforms falsely show BSE Managing Director and CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy offering stock market tips and investment advice, urging viewers to invest in select stocks for quick gains and join private WhatsApp or Telegram groups for exclusive tips.
BSE identified this as the fourth such incident in the past four months, indicating a repeated pattern of misuse of the institution's and its MD & CEO's credibility by scammers exploiting public trust to target unsuspecting investors.
Reported impact
The deepfake videos make false claims of guaranteed and extraordinary returns, misleading investors into fraudulent investment schemes through impersonation of the exchange's leadership.
Index analysis
Scammers increasingly exploit deepfake technology to create synthetic media impersonating legitimate financial institution leaders in order to manipulate investors into fraudulent investment schemes.
The repeated nature of such incidents targeting the same individual and institution suggests organized or copycat misuse of deepfake creation tools.
Governance controls
BSE stated that neither Ramamurthy nor any official of the exchange provides stock tips, investment advice, or runs any messaging groups or channels, and clarified that such content is fake, unauthorised, and deliberately deceptive.
BSE urged investors to rely only on information shared through official BSE channels and SEBI-registered intermediaries, and stated it is taking swift action to have the content removed and will initiate strict legal proceedings against those responsible.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.