Rhein-Pfalz district police say an older man sent about 27,000 euros after a talk-show video, presumably generated by AI, promised crypto gains
The Ludwigshafen police directorate reported on 3 April 2025 that an older man from the Rhein-Pfalz district had seen a video online of a talk show on the German broadcaster ZDF in which large stock-market gains through a cryptocurrency were promised. The police say the video was presumably generated by AI. He then phoned a supposed personal financial adviser and over six months transferred about 27,000 euros to foreign accounts. He became suspicious when the promised gains were not paid out despite repeated requests and further fees were demanded instead. The police do not say who appeared in the video or how they reached their view.
- AI system
- Unidentified video tool (suspected)
- Occurred
- Event date unknown
- Reported
- 3 April 2025
- Event location
- Unknown
- What the AI did
- Depicted or impersonated the person
- Reported harm
- Financial Loss
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Finance
- Evidence
- AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
- 3 claims: 3 reported. 3 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: A video of a supposed ZDF talk show promising cryptocurrency gains that the Ludwigshafen police say was presumably generated by AI (tool and people shown not identified)
What Happened
The police account. In a release of 3 April 2025, the Ludwigshafen police directorate said an older man from the Rhein-Pfalz district had fallen victim to a fraud. He had seen a video on the internet of a ZDF talk show in which large stock-market gains through a cryptocurrency were promised. He then contacted a supposed personal financial adviser by phone and, over a period of six months, transferred about 27,000 euros to foreign accounts. He became suspicious when he asked for the gains to be paid out and, despite repeated requests, nothing was paid; further fees were demanded from him instead.
The AI attribution. The police say the video was presumably generated by AI. The wording is presumptive, and the release does not say who appeared in the video, which tool was used or how the police reached this view.
What is not known. When he saw the video and when the six months of payments began and ended, the platform used, and whether any money was recovered.
Reported harm
According to the Ludwigshafen police, an older man who saw a talk-show video promising crypto gains, which they say was presumably generated by AI, contacted a supposed adviser and transferred about 27,000 euros to foreign accounts over six months without receiving any payout.
Outcome
UnknownThe police published the case in a release on investment fraud. The release reports no suspect, recovery of money or result of an investigation.
What remains unknown
- When he saw the video and when the six months of transfers began and ended.
- Who appeared in the video, which tool made it and how the police reached the view that it was presumably AI-generated.
- The platform used and whether any money was recovered.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: suspected. The Ludwigshafen police say the video of a ZDF talk show promising crypto gains that the man saw online was presumably generated by AI, and that after seeing it he phoned a supposed financial adviser and transferred about 27,000 euros over six months. The generated impersonation of a broadcaster's talk show is what drew him to the fraudsters, according to the police. Their wording is presumptive, and they do not disclose how they reached it, which tool was used or who appeared in the video.
3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported The Ludwigshafen police say the man had seen a video online of a ZDF talk show in which large stock-market gains through a cryptocurrency were promised, and that the video was presumably generated by AI.
Causal attribution. Presumptive attribution by the police; the technical basis and the people shown are not disclosed.
- presseportal.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
'hatte im Internet ein Video einer ZDF-Talkshow gesehen, indem große Börsengewinne über eine Kryptowährung versprochen wurde. Dieses Video wurde vermutlich über eine Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) generiert.'
Reported The police say he then phoned a supposed personal financial adviser and over six months transferred about 27,000 euros to foreign accounts.
Causal attribution. The police's account of the payments; the amount is approximate.
- presseportal.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
'Hierauf kontaktierte der Mann telefonisch einen angeblichen, persönlichen Finanzberater. Über einen Zeitraum von sechs Monaten überwies' ... 'dann ca. 27.000 Euro auf ausländische Konten.'
Reported The police say he became suspicious when the gains were not paid out despite repeated requests and further fees were demanded instead.
Causal attribution. Reported by the police.
- presseportal.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
'Verdacht schöpfte er, als er die Auszahlung der Kursgewinne einforderte und dies trotz mehrmaligem Nachfragen nicht erfolgte. Stattdessen wurde weitere Gebühren von dem Mann gefordert.'
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Polizeidirektion Ludwigshafen (presseportal), 3 April 2025: Anlagebetrug - hoher Schaden(opens in new tab)
s1 · presseportal.de · Official statement · German · Inspected · 3 April 2025 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in German by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-20 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Ludwigshafen police directorate press release on presseportal.de, 3 April 2025; HTTP 200. Applies to s1.
Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Germany. Court countries: Unknown.
The police describe the man as from the Rhein-Pfalz district, Germany, so the affected person's country is Germany. The release does not say where he saw the video or made the transfers, which went to foreign accounts, so no event country is recorded. No court proceeding is reported.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-20: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Ludwigshafen police say an older man was drawn by a ZDF talk-show video promising crypto gains, which they say was presumably generated by AI, into transferring about 27,000 euros over six months. The technical basis and the people shown are undisclosed. The event dates are unknown; the id year is that of the April 2025 release.
People described
An older man from the Rhein-Pfalz district who saw a talk-show video online, contacted a supposed financial adviser and transferred money for six months
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed
One man (police release). The people shown in the video are not identified and no response from them or the broadcaster is reported, so none is counted.
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). Rhein-Pfalz district police say an older man sent about 27,000 euros after a talk-show video, presumably generated by AI, promised crypto gains. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-rhein-pfalz-district-police-say-older-man-sent-about-27000-euros-after-talk-show-video-presumably-generated-by-ai
BibTeX
@misc{2025_rhein_pfalz_district_police_say_older_man_sent_about_27000_euros_after_talk_show_video_presumably_generated_by_ai,
title = {Rhein-Pfalz district police say an older man sent about 27,000 euros after a talk-show video, presumably generated by AI, promised crypto gains},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-rhein-pfalz-district-police-say-older-man-sent-about-27000-euros-after-talk-show-video-presumably-generated-by-ai}
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