Female TV Journalist Pooja Shali Falls Victim To Viral Deepfake Video Promoting Trading App; Watch

Scamsters through AI are finding new ways every day to con people into investing their money, only for them to realise later that they have been cheated. The fraudsters are sparing no one, be it a common man, people with power and influence, or even journalists. 

One such incident recently came to light when TV news anchor Pooja Shali of the Aaj Tak group took to X to inform that a video of her is circulating on the internet, showing her in the studios and apparently promoting a trading app, asking to invest in Reliance Industries run by one of the world's richest men, as many Indians have increased their wealth more than ten times by investing in such stocks.

Pooja on X said, "The scam video featuring me on INSTA is a deepfake. Scary! My news bulletin, edited by A.I to attract fraudulent investments. I endorse only real news :) Not such criminal schemes. DON'T SHARE/PAY. BEWARE."

In the deepfake video, Pooja can be heard saying, "The founder of Reliance Industries presented his new project in which he has already invested more than $3 billion dollars. The new project opens up great investment opportunities for absolutely all Indians. Many Indians have already increased their wealth tenfold and continue to do so. No other project has ever provided Indians with such opportunities. Given the interesting features of the app and having seen how it works, we believe it is safe to say that it is legitimate and that the trading app allows users to enjoy trading without any difficulties. We decided to interview him personally and here is what he said about it. 'Hi, everybody, I am Mukesh Ambani..."

Soon after coming to know about this, she informed the Delhi police cybercrime unit to take necessary actions.

This is not the first time that fraudsters have tried to create deepfake videos to spread a financial trap using a journalist. Back in February, anchor Anjana Om Kashyap of the same Aaj Tak group was seen talking about former Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli promoting an app named Avitor in a deep fake video.

Such phishing activities are rampant, posing significant risks to unsuspecting individuals. To tackle phishing attacks, it's crucial to raise awareness about deepfake technology, encourage scepticism towards online information, verify sources before investing, and report suspicious activities to relevant authorities.