Two cyber fraudsters, Saumyaranjan Pradhan and Kitis Nandi, were arrested by the Balangir police in Odisha for their involvement in a voice cloning scam that defrauded victims by impersonating prominent politicians and other eminent personalities. The arrested individuals, hailing from different districts of Odisha—Pradhan from Angul and Nandi from Cuttack—were reportedly responsible for deceiving individuals into transferring money through cloned voice calls.
The Balangir police initiated an investigation after receiving complaints about suspicious phone calls in which the fraudsters used advanced voice-cloning technology to mimic well-known figures. During the course of their investigation, police discovered that Pradhan and Nandi had successfully used the technique to collect approximately Rs 3 lakh from their victims.
According to the police, the scamsters would call their targets, often pretending to be influential politicians or public figures, and request financial assistance. This tactic is part of a broader set of cyber fraud activities that use technology to manipulate victims.