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Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

Rio Grande do Sul police say gang used deepfake video of Gisele Bündchen to sell a free skincare kit; Porto Alegre woman who paid the fee got nothing

A woman in Porto Alegre, Brazil, saw an online video in which the model Gisele Bündchen appeared to promote a free skincare kit, paid the R$44.57 shipping fee and received nothing. Her police report, registered on 4 August 2024, led the Rio Grande do Sul Civil Police to Operation Modo Selva. On 1 October 2025 police executed 26 court orders in five states against a group they say used deepfake videos of celebrities, including Gisele Bündchen and several TV presenters, in fake product promotions; four people had been arrested by the time of the reports. The investigating delegate said the criminals had created a deepfake of the model's image and voice. Police say the scheme moved at least R$20 million, and assets worth up to R$210 million were frozen. The model thanked police for finding criminals who use artificial intelligence for online scams. No charge or trial outcome has been reported since.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
1 October 2025
Event location
Brazil
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Financial Loss
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts
6 claims: 6 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 1 person

AI system as recorded: Deepfake video technology, not named, that police say synthesised the face and voice of Gisele Bündchen and of TV presenters in fake promotional videos used to sell non-existent products online

What Happened

The advert. The complainant, a Porto Alegre resident, told G1 she saw a video in which Gisele Bündchen spoke about a promotion for skincare kits: participants answered a questionnaire and paid for delivery. She said she believed it because it seemed to be the model speaking, in both image and voice, paid, and never received anything. According to GZH, the police report of the R$44.57 'shipping fee' was registered on 4 August 2024.

The investigation. Her report led the Rio Grande do Sul Civil Police to a national scheme. Police say the group used fake social media profiles to promote fraudulent campaigns with deepfake videos of celebrities, including the TV presenters Angélica Huck, Juliette, Maísa and Sabrina Sato, and sent buyers to sites made to look legitimate, where they paid for products that never arrived. The investigating delegate told G1 that the criminals had created a deepfake of Gisele Bündchen's image and voice, making it seem that the model was promoting the non-existent product. GZH describes the deepfakes the operation targeted as AI-based synthesis of human images and sounds; no source says how police established that the videos were synthetic.

The operation. On 1 October 2025 police executed 26 court orders in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Bahia and Pernambuco, including seven preventive detention orders; four people had been arrested by the time of the reports. GZH reports that the organisation moved at least R$20 million, partly through a cloned betting platform, and that vehicles, bank accounts and crypto-asset wallets worth up to R$210 million were frozen. G1 describes the R$210 million figure as what the scheme may have obtained. Police said the suspects should answer for fraud, criminal organisation, money laundering and illegal gambling.

The model. On her social media the model thanked the police for finding criminals who use artificial intelligence for online scams.

What is not known. How many people paid, how much each lost, which tool made the videos, and whether anyone has been charged or convicted.

Reported harm

A Porto Alegre woman paid a R$44.57 shipping fee for a free skincare kit promoted in a video that police say was a deepfake of Gisele Bündchen, and received nothing; police say the wider scheme moved at least R$20 million from unquantified victims.

How Harm Occurred

Police say a gang made deepfake videos of Gisele Bündchen's face and voice promoting a free skincare kit; a woman who believed the model was speaking paid the shipping fee and received nothing.

Outcome

Ongoing

Rio Grande do Sul Civil Police (Department for the Repression of Cyber Crimes) launched Operation Modo Selva on 1 October 2025 with 26 court orders in five states, including seven preventive detention orders and nine search warrants; four people had been arrested by the time of the reports. Police said the suspects should answer for fraud, criminal organisation, money laundering and illegal gambling. No indictment, trial or conviction was found in news searches on 2026-10-27.

What remains unknown

  • How many people paid and how much each lost.
  • Which tool made the videos and how police established that they were synthetic.
  • When the complainant saw the video and paid; only the date of her police report (4 August 2024) is given.
  • Whether anyone has been charged, tried or convicted since October 2025.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The investigating delegate of the Rio Grande do Sul Civil Police told G1 that the criminals had created a deepfake video of Gisele Bündchen's image and voice making it seem she was promoting the non-existent product, and GZH reports the police operation as targeting an organisation that used deepfakes, AI-based synthesis of human images and sounds, of celebrities. This is an attribution of this scheme by the investigating police; how they established it is not disclosed. The complainant says she paid because the video seemed to show the model speaking. The AI-made likeness impersonated the model toward the people deceived (depicted_or_impersonated).

6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported On 1 October 2025 the Rio Grande do Sul Civil Police executed 26 court orders in five states against a group that police say used deepfake videos of celebrities to sell products fraudulently online; four people had been arrested by the time of the reports.

Causal attribution. Police operation as reported; the deepfake description is the police account.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'A Polícia Civil cumpre, na manhã desta quarta-feira (1º), 26 ordens judiciais contra suspeitos de integrar um grupo criminoso que usa vídeos com "deepfake" de celebridades para enganar pessoas com vendas fraudulentas de produtos pela internet.' ... 'Até a publicação desta reportagem, quatro pessoas foram presas.'
  • gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Foram cumpridas 26 ordens judiciais, incluindo, sete prisões preventivas e nove mandados de busca e apreensão em cinco Estados' ... 'Até o momento, quatro pessoas foram presas.'
Reported The investigating delegate said the criminals had created a deepfake video of Gisele Bündchen's image and voice, making it seem that the model was promoting a non-existent product, for which the complainant was charged R$44.57 as a shipping fee.

Causal attribution. Investigating police's attribution of AI generation; technical basis not disclosed.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'O que chamou a atenção dos investigadores não foi apenas o valor relativamente baixo do prejuízo, R$ 44,57 cobrados como ‘taxa de frete’, mas a sofisticação técnica por trás do golpe. Os criminosos haviam criado um vídeo com ‘deepfake’ da imagem e voz de Gisele Bündchen, fazendo parecer que a modelo estava realmente promovendo o produto inexistente'
Reported A Porto Alegre woman saw a video in which the model appeared to promote a skincare kit promotion, paid for delivery because she believed it was the model speaking, and never received anything.

Causal attribution. The complainant's own account; the AI attribution comes from the police (c2).

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Uma moradora de Porto Alegre denunciou um golpe com deepfake de Gisele Bündchen.' ... 'A mulher que registrou a ocorrência na polícia viu um vídeo em que Gisele Bündchen falava sobre uma promoção de kits de cuidados com a pele.' ... 'Eu acreditei porque era ela falando. Passava veracidade. No fim, paguei e nunca recebi nada'
Reported According to GZH, the police report of the R$44.57 loss was registered on 4 August 2024, and police say the organisation moved at least R$20 million, partly through a cloned betting platform, with assets of up to R$210 million frozen.

Causal attribution. Police figures as relayed by GZH; G1 describes the R$210 million differently.

  • gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'O registro de uma ocorrência policial por um estelionato simples e um prejuízo de R$ 44,57, em 4 de agosto de 2024, levou à descoberta de um esquema nacional de um golpe virtual' ... 'A organização movimentou pelo menos R$ 20 milhões, com parte dos recursos vindo de uma plataforma falsa de apostas (bets), clonada a partir de sites regulamentados.' ... 'em valores que podem chegar a R$ 210 milhões'
Reported Police said the investigation identified fake videos using images of TV presenters as well as the model, and that the suspects should answer for fraud, criminal organisation, money laundering and illegal gambling.

Causal attribution. Police account of the scope of the scheme and expected charges.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'A investigação da polícia identificou vídeos falsos usando imagens, por exemplo, da modelo Gisele Bündchen, além das apresentadoras Angélica Huck, Juliette, Maísa e Sabrina Sato.' ... 'Os suspeitos devem responder por estelionato, organização criminosa, lavagem de dinheiro e jogo de azar.'
Reported The model thanked the police on her social media for finding criminals who use artificial intelligence for online scams.

Causal attribution. The depicted person's own statement as relayed by G1.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'muito obrigada à polícia pelo empenho em encontrar esses criminosos que utilizam inteligência artificial para aplicar golpes na internet'

Sources

3 sources inspected, from 2 underlying accounts. 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 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. GZH (Grupo RBS) report of the police operation, read in full; it relays police statements and a police release photo. Applies to s1.

Read in Portuguese by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. G1 RS / RBS TV report of the operation, read in full; it quotes the investigating delegate. RBS TV and GZH belong to the same regional media group. Applies to s2.

Read in Portuguese by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-27 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. G1 RS / RBS TV follow-up with the complainant's interview, read in full. Applies to s3.

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

The complainant lives in Porto Alegre and reported to the Rio Grande do Sul police; the operation covered five Brazilian states. No court ruling is reported, so no court country is recorded.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-27: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the investigating Rio Grande do Sul police say a gang created a deepfake video of Gisele Bündchen's image and voice promoting a non-existent product, and a Porto Alegre woman who believed the model was speaking paid the fee and received nothing. Police describe a national scheme that moved at least R$20 million. The police's technical basis for the deepfake finding is not disclosed. No private name appears in the public record.

People described

An adult woman living in Porto Alegre who paid a shipping fee for a promoted product and received nothing; police describe further victims across Brazil without a count

People reported harmed in this case

At least 1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.

One complainant (the Porto Alegre woman) is counted. Police describe further victims of the national scheme but give no count; the R$20 million and R$210 million figures are money and frozen assets, not people. The depicted celebrities are not counted: no adverse consequence for them is reported beyond the model's public thanks to the police.

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

Tags

#deepfake#fake-celebrity-advertisement#voice#consumer-fraud#police-operation#brazil

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Rio Grande do Sul police say gang used deepfake video of Gisele Bündchen to sell a free skincare kit; Porto Alegre woman who paid the fee got nothing. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-rio-grande-do-sul-police-say-deepfake-video-of-gisele-bundchen-lured-woman-into-paying-for-free-skincare-kit-in-national-scam

BibTeX

@misc{2024_rio_grande_do_sul_police_say_deepfake_video_of_gisele_bundchen_lured_woman_into_paying_for_free_skincare_kit_in_national_scam,
  title = {Rio Grande do Sul police say gang used deepfake video of Gisele Bündchen to sell a free skincare kit; Porto Alegre woman who paid the fee got nothing},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-rio-grande-do-sul-police-say-deepfake-video-of-gisele-bundchen-lured-woman-into-paying-for-free-skincare-kit-in-national-scam}
}

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