Anqing, China: police say a nine-second AI face-swap video call posing as an acquaintance led a man to transfer 2.45 million yuan
In April 2023 a man in the Anqing economic development zone, Anhui, received a brief WeChat video call from someone who appeared to be an acquaintance, followed by a QQ message asking him to advance money for a tender; trusting the video call, he had family members transfer 2.45 million yuan. The local police anti-fraud centre found that the fraudsters had used a nine-second AI face-swap video to pose as the acquaintance, Dawan News reported. Police arrested three suspects on 28 April, froze or recovered more than one million yuan, and on 22 May returned 1.32 million yuan to the victim.
- AI system
- Unidentified video tool
- Occurred
- 27 Apr 2023
- Reported
- 25 May 2023
- Event location
- China
- What the AI did
- Communicated with the person · Depicted or impersonated the person
- Reported harm
- Financial Loss
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Finance · Relationships
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
- 3 claims: 3 reported. 4 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: A nine-second AI face-swap video used in a WeChat video call to impersonate an acquaintance, according to police (tool not identified)
What Happened
The call. According to Dawan News, on 27 April 2023 a WeChat contact who appeared to be the man's acquaintance started a video call that showed the acquaintance in a meeting room and hung up after a few seconds, saying it was inconvenient to talk in a meeting. The 'acquaintance' then wrote on QQ that a project tender needed working capital and asked him to advance it. Because he had seen the face on a video call, he had family members transfer 2.45 million yuan to the account given, and learned of the fraud only when he later phoned the real acquaintance.
The police findings. Officers of the anti-fraud centre of the Anqing economic development zone police sub-bureau found that the fraudsters had used a nine-second AI face-swap video to pose as the acquaintance. A police team tracing the account funds arrested three suspects in another province on 28 April, seized 26 phones and froze or recovered more than one million yuan; the three were suspected of helping move nearly one million yuan of criminal proceeds. On 22 May police returned 1.32 million yuan to the victim, and the case remained under investigation. China National Radio later summarised the case in the same terms.
Reported harm
According to the police findings reported by Dawan News, a man transferred 2.45 million yuan after a nine-second AI face-swap video call posing as an acquaintance; 1.32 million yuan was later returned to him.
Outcome
OngoingPolice arrested three suspects in another province on 28 April 2023, seized 26 phones and froze or recovered more than one million yuan; the three were suspected of moving nearly one million yuan of the proceeds. On 22 May police returned 1.32 million yuan to the victim; the investigation was continuing.
What remains unknown
- Which AI tool was used and how police established the face swap.
- Whether the remaining money was recovered.
- Whether the three suspects, who were suspected of moving proceeds, or anyone who made the video was charged or convicted.
- How the acquaintance's WeChat identity was used.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The anti-fraud centre of the Anqing economic development zone police, which investigated the case and arrested three suspects, found that the fraudsters used a nine-second AI face-swap video to pose as the victim's acquaintance on the WeChat video call that preceded the payment (Dawan News via Secrss; CNR). The faked acquaintance appeared to the victim, and the same account then asked for money (depicted_or_impersonated, communicated_with). The police do not disclose how the face swap was established or which tool was used.
3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported Officers of the Anqing economic development zone police anti-fraud centre found that the fraudsters used a nine-second AI face-swap video to pose as an acquaintance and lower the victim's guard.
Causal attribution. Police finding attributing the deception to an AI face-swap video.
- secrss.com(opens in new tab) supports · Chinese
'经开公安分局反诈中心民警调查发现，诈骗分子使用了一段9秒钟的智能AI换脸视频佯装“熟人”，让受害人放松警惕从而实施诈骗。'
- news.cnr.cn(opens in new tab) supports · Chinese
'诈骗分子使用一段9秒钟的智能AI换脸视频佯装“熟人”，让受害人放松警惕被骗走245万元。'
Reported After the brief video call, the 'acquaintance' asked on QQ for money to be advanced for a project tender, and, trusting the video call, the victim had family members transfer 2.45 million yuan, learning of the fraud only when he later phoned the acquaintance.
Causal attribution. The victim's account of why he paid, as reported.
- secrss.com(opens in new tab) supports · Chinese
'目前有一个项目招标需要周转资金' and '“因为打了视频电话又是熟人”，“我就没多想，就转账了”' and '立刻让家人将245万元到对方指定的账号上，直到事后拨打对方电话才得知被骗。'
Reported Police arrested three suspects on 28 April 2023, seized 26 phones, froze or recovered more than one million yuan, and on 22 May returned 1.32 million yuan to the victim; the case was still being investigated.
Causal attribution. Police account of arrests and recovery.
- secrss.com(opens in new tab) supports · Chinese
'于4月28日下午一举抓获' and '等3名犯罪嫌疑人，扣押涉案手机26部，冻结、追回电诈资金一百余万元。' and '5月22日，民警将先行追回的132万元被骗款返还给' and '目前，该案件正在进一步侦办中。'
Sources
2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Secrss (republishing Dawan News), 25 May 2023: Another AI face-swap fraud as Anhui man loses 2.45 million yuan in 9 seconds(opens in new tab)
s1 · secrss.com · News report · Chinese · Inspected · 25 May 2023 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source · Primary
- CNR (China National Radio), 13 June 2023: 2.45 million yuan taken in 9 seconds; how to guard against AI fraud(opens in new tab)
s2 · news.cnr.cn · News report · Chinese · Inspected · Shares an underlying account with another listed source
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in Chinese on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Republication of a Dawan News report (stated as from Dawan News), dated 25 May 2023. Translated from Chinese by the research agent (an AI); no human translation. Applies to s1.
Read in Chinese on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200; page encoded GBK). China National Radio summary, 13 June 2023, of the same case. Translated from Chinese by the research agent (an AI); no human translation. Applies to s2.
Event countries: China. Affected-person countries: China. Court countries: Unknown.
Event: the case occurred in the Anqing economic development zone, Anhui, and was handled by its police sub-bureau (Dawan News; CNR). No court proceeding is reported.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-22: Published as a core case (communicated_with, depicted_or_impersonated): the investigating Anqing police anti-fraud centre found that a nine-second AI face-swap video posing as an acquaintance led a man to transfer 2.45 million yuan. The technical basis is not disclosed. The victim is not named.
People described
A man in the Anqing economic development zone, Anhui, identified in the sources only by surname; this record omits it
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed
One person: the man who had 2.45 million yuan transferred after the call (Dawan News via Secrss). The impersonated acquaintance and the family members who made the transfer are not counted; no separate harm to them is reported.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Anqing, China: police say a nine-second AI face-swap video call posing as an acquaintance led a man to transfer 2.45 million yuan. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2023-anqing-anhui-police-say-nine-second-ai-face-swap-video-call-posing-as-acquaintance-cost-man-2-45-million-yuan
BibTeX
@misc{2023_anqing_anhui_police_say_nine_second_ai_face_swap_video_call_posing_as_acquaintance_cost_man_2_45_million_yuan,
title = {Anqing, China: police say a nine-second AI face-swap video call posing as an acquaintance led a man to transfer 2.45 million yuan},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2023-anqing-anhui-police-say-nine-second-ai-face-swap-video-call-posing-as-acquaintance-cost-man-2-45-million-yuan}
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