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NOPE
Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

Maranhão, Brazil: police say a woman used AI to create fake airline tickets sold in travel packages of up to 10,000 reais; at least 11 victims identified

The Maranhão Civil Police said in October 2026 that a woman held in pre-trial detention had sold travel packages promising a year of flights for a fixed payment of about 8,000 to 10,000 reais, and that she used artificial intelligence to create fake airline tickets. No genuine tickets were issued. The investigation first identified 11 victims, some of whom, including older people, children and pregnant women, went to airports and could not board; the police say they suffered financial losses and emotional strain. She blamed overbooking or airline system failures. The police do not say which AI tool was used or how they established its use.

AI system
Unidentified document-generation tool
Occurred
2024
Reported
20 October 2026
Event location
Brazil
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Financial LossPsychological Distress
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
5 claims: 5 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 11 people

AI system as recorded: Artificial intelligence used to create fake airline tickets, according to the Maranhão Civil Police (tool not identified)

What Happened

The police account. According to the Maranhão Civil Police, as reported by g1 on 20 October 2026, a woman was arrested under a pre-trial detention order on suspicion of selling fake airline tickets produced with the help of artificial intelligence. She charged about 8,000 to 10,000 reais for packages that promised a year of travel within Brazil and abroad, paying only boarding fees, but even after payment the tickets were not issued. The police chief said she had worked for an airline and used that experience to win people's trust.

Victims. The investigation first identified 11 victims, and further possible victims came forward during the inquiry. According to the police, some victims, including older people, children and pregnant women, went to airports at unsuitable hours and could not board; besides the financial loss they suffered disruption and emotional strain. She attributed the failed boardings to overbooking or to airline system failures. The police also found payments routed through third parties' bank accounts.

Court decision. The judge ordered pre-trial detention to prevent possible further offences. According to the case information, she is suspected of resuming fraud in 2024.

What is not known. Which AI tool was used, how the police established its use, the total amount lost and the outcome of the prosecution.

Reported harm

According to the Maranhão police, people paid up to about 10,000 reais each for travel packages whose airline tickets, made with AI, were fake and never issued; some went to airports and could not board, and the police say they suffered financial loss and emotional strain.

Outcome

Ongoing

The Maranhão Civil Police arrested the woman under a pre-trial detention order; the judge considered detention necessary to stop possible further offences and alternative measures insufficient. The police said the investigation was continuing, had identified a possible accomplice, and asked other possible victims to report to the fraud police station. No charge decision or trial has been reported.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI tool was used and how the police established its use.
  • The total amount lost and the final number of victims.
  • Whether she has been charged or tried, and her response (the defence could not be reached).
  • Whether the police described the AI use in their own words: no police press release was found, and the police chief's quotes in the g1 report do not mention AI.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Maranhão Civil Police, as reported by g1, say the woman used artificial intelligence to create the fake airline tickets she sold in travel packages; buyers paid up to about 10,000 reais, the tickets were never issued by any airline, and some buyers went to airports and could not board. The AI-made tickets are the documents that presented the purchased flights to the buyers. The police do not name the tool or say how they established its use. The AI wording appears in g1's paraphrase of the police account, and the police chief's quoted statements in the report do not mention it.

5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported According to the Maranhão Civil Police, the woman used artificial intelligence to create fake airline tickets and charged up to 10,000 reais for travel packages.

Causal attribution. AI attribution by the investigating police; the tool and technical basis are not disclosed.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    De acordo com a polícia, a investigada utilizava inteligência artificial para criar passagens falsas e cobrava até R$ 10 mil por pacotes de viagens. ... suspeita de aplicar golpes com a venda de passagens aéreas falsas produzidas com o auxílio de inteligência artificial
Reported The police say the packages promised a year of travel for boarding fees only, but the tickets were not issued even after payment, and that she had worked for an airline and used that experience to win victims' trust.

Causal attribution. The scheme as described by the police.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    No entanto, mesmo após receber os valores cobrados, as passagens não eram emitidas. ... já havia trabalhado em uma companhia aérea e utilizava essa experiência profissional para ganhar a confiança das vítimas
Reported The investigation first identified 11 victims; according to the police some, including older people, children and pregnant women, went to airports and could not board, and besides the financial loss they suffered disruption and emotional strain.

Causal attribution. Harm as reported by the police; no total loss is given.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    Inicialmente, a investigação identificou 11 vítimas ... chegaram a se deslocar até aeroportos em horários inadequados, mas não conseguiram embarcar. Além do prejuízo financeiro, os passageiros enfrentaram transtornos e desgaste emocional.
Reported She blamed the failed boardings on overbooking or airline system failures.

Causal attribution. Her explanation as reported by the police account.

Reported A judge ordered her pre-trial detention to prevent possible further offences; according to the case information she is suspected of resuming fraud in 2024.

Causal attribution. Court decision and case information as reported; the decision itself was not read.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    Ao determinar a prisão preventiva, a juíza considerou a medida necessária para impedir a continuidade dos possíveis crimes. ... é suspeita de ter voltado a aplicar golpes em 2024

Sources

1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in Portuguese by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. g1 Maranhão report of 20 Oct 2026 quoting the Maranhão Civil Police and court decision; HTTP 200. Applies to s1.

Event countries: Brazil. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Brazil.

The Maranhão Civil Police investigated and arrested the woman, and a judge in the case ordered pre-trial detention, so the event and court countries are Brazil. The victims' countries of residence are not stated, so that field is left empty.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-21: Published as a core case (communicated_with): the investigating Maranhão Civil Police say a woman used artificial intelligence to create fake airline tickets that she sold in travel packages, leaving at least 11 identified buyers with financial losses and some unable to board at airports. The attribution's technical basis is undisclosed. No name appears in the public record.

People described

People who paid for travel packages and received fake airline tickets; the police first identified 11, some of whom went to airports and could not board

People reported harmed in this case

At least 11 people

0 AI participants · 11 other people harmed

Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.

The investigation first identified 11 victims and further possible victims came forward (police account in g1). A figure of at least 30 victims since 2024 is given only conditionally from the court decision ('teria feito'), so it is not counted.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#fake_airline_tickets#travel_fraud#brazil#pretrial_detention

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Maranhão, Brazil: police say a woman used AI to create fake airline tickets sold in travel packages of up to 10,000 reais; at least 11 victims identified. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-maranhao-brazil-police-say-woman-sold-fake-airline-tickets-made-with-ai-to-at-least-11-victims

BibTeX

@misc{2024_maranhao_brazil_police_say_woman_sold_fake_airline_tickets_made_with_ai_to_at_least_11_victims,
  title = {Maranhão, Brazil: police say a woman used AI to create fake airline tickets sold in travel packages of up to 10,000 reais; at least 11 victims identified},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-maranhao-brazil-police-say-woman-sold-fake-airline-tickets-made-with-ai-to-at-least-11-victims}
}

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