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Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

Sweden: police say AI-generated videos of well-known doctors in social media ads led people to fraudulent sites and card fraud; doctors object

In June 2025 the Stockholm police region warned that since the end of May it had received several complaints from people defrauded through social media adverts with AI-generated videos depicting doctors, who appeared to give advice and recommend medicines or vitamins. According to the police, viewers who followed the adverts to fraudulent websites were induced to enter card details, after which a considerably larger sum was charged and the details were stolen. Dagens Nyheter reported that the doctors used included the former state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell and the professor Agnes Wold, who told the paper of being furious. In July 2025 the Public Health Agency of Sweden said fake Facebook films imitating its former state epidemiologist were advertising products for diabetes or asthma, that it had reported them to the police and had asked Meta to remove them; he said it was sad that fraudsters were exploiting vulnerable people. Dagens Nyheter, as relayed by Omni, reported that the investigations were closed because the offences were judged to have been committed abroad. The number of defrauded people and their losses are not stated, and the police do not say how the AI generation was established.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
May 2025
Reported
9 June 2025
Event location
Unknown
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Financial LossPsychological Distress
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance · Health · Privacy
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 6 sources, 4 underlying accounts
8 claims: 8 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 2 people

AI system as recorded: Unidentified tool used by fraudsters to generate videos imitating the appearance and voices of well-known Swedish doctors in social media adverts, described by the Stockholm police as AI-generated; no tool is named

What Happened

The police warning. On 9 June 2025 the Stockholm police region said that since the end of May it had received several complaints in which complainants had been deceived in advert frauds with AI-generated videos depicting doctors. In the clips the doctors, often familiar faces, appear to give advice and recommend medicines or vitamins; the police say the real doctors take no part and the videos were generated by fraudsters for social media adverts. Viewers are led by a link to a fraudulent site, where they are induced to give card details; a considerably larger sum is then charged and the card details are stolen.

The doctors. Dagens Nyheter reported on 19 June 2025 that the doctors used included the former state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell and the professor Agnes Wold, who told the paper of being furious and that the adverts went against everything the professor stands for. On 4 July 2025 the Public Health Agency of Sweden, where he is a senior adviser, said fake films on Facebook made it look and sound as though he was taking part, with the agency's logo behind him, advertising preparations said to help with diabetes or asthma. The agency reported the frauds to the police and sent Meta a legal request to remove the films. He told SVT it felt very bad that he was being used to deceive people who are already vulnerable.

Scale and outcome. SVT, citing Dagens Nyheter, reported that the police had then received about ten complaints from defrauded private individuals and from doctors whose likeness was used. Omni, relaying Dagens Nyheter, reported that the investigations were closed because the offences were judged to have been committed in other countries. No source gives the number of defrauded people, their losses, or the basis for the AI attribution.

Reported harm

The Stockholm police say complainants who followed the adverts entered card details on fraudulent sites, were charged considerably larger sums and had the details stolen; the two depicted doctors objected publicly and the Public Health Agency reported the films to police.

How Harm Occurred

Fraudsters placed social media adverts with videos, which the police describe as AI-generated, imitating well-known doctors recommending health products; viewers followed the adverts' links to fraudulent sites, entered card details and were charged larger sums, and the depicted doctors' names and likenesses were used without consent.

Outcome

Resolved

The Stockholm police received complaints and issued a public warning on 9 June 2025; the Public Health Agency reported the films to the police and sent Meta a legal removal request (4 July 2025). Dagens Nyheter, as relayed by Omni, reported that the investigations were closed because the offences were judged to have been committed abroad.

What remains unknown

  • How many people were defrauded and how much each lost; the police statement says several complaints and a relayed figure of about ten includes doctors' own complaints.
  • How the police established that the videos were AI-generated, and which tool was used.
  • Whether any defrauded complainant saw a video of the two named doctors specifically.
  • Whether Meta removed the films.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Stockholm police, who received the complaints, state that the videos depicting doctors in the social media adverts were AI-generated by fraudsters, and that people who followed the adverts to fraudulent sites gave card details, were charged considerably more and had the details stolen. The Public Health Agency says films imitating the former state epidemiologist's appearance and voice are fake and reported them to police. Neither says how the AI generation was established, and no tool is named.

8 claims: 8 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported Stockholm police said in June 2025 that since the end of May they had received several complaints from people defrauded in advertisement scams using AI-generated videos depicting doctors, and that the videos were AI-generated and made by fraudsters for social media adverts.

Causal attribution. Stockholm police statement; the police do not say how they established that the videos were AI-generated.

  • polisen.se(opens in new tab) supports · Swedish
    'Sedan slutet av maj har polisen i region Stockholm fått in flera anmälningar där målsägare blivit lurade i annonsbedrägerier med AI-generade videor föreställande läkare.'; 'De välgjorda filmerna är istället AI-genererade och har skapats av bedragare för att användas i annonser på sociala medier.'
Reported According to the police, the doctors in the clips appear to give advice and recommend medicines or vitamins; viewers who follow the link to a fraudulent site are induced to enter card details, a considerably larger sum is then charged and the card details are stolen.

Causal attribution. Stockholm police statement describing the complaints.

  • polisen.se(opens in new tab) supports · Swedish
    'I klippen ger de råd och förespråkar köp av olika läkemedel eller vitaminer men det är inte de riktiga läkarna'; 'Väl på den bedrägliga hemsidan luras målsägaren att uppge sina kortuppgifter vilket leder till att en betydligt högre summa dras och att även kortuppgifterna stjäls.'
Reported Dagens Nyheter reported in June 2025 that fraudsters were using well-known doctors, among them the former state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell and the professor Agnes Wold, in AI-made advertising films to obtain card details.

Causal attribution. Dagens Nyheter's report (Omni relays it); the AI description of these two doctors' clips is the newspaper's, read alongside the police statement on doctor videos.

  • dn.se(opens in new tab) supports · Swedish
    'I AI-framställda reklamfilmer använder bedragare kända läkare för att komma över svenskars kortuppgifter. Bland profilerna som utnyttjats finns Anders Tegnell och Agnes Wold.'
  • omni.se(opens in new tab) supports · Swedish
    'Professorn Agnes Wold och den tidigare statsepidemiologen Anders Tegnell utnyttjas av bedragare som försöker lura till sig pengar via AI-skapade reklamfilmer, rapporterar Dagens Nyheter.'
Reported The Public Health Agency of Sweden said on 4 July 2025 that fake Facebook films in which the former state epidemiologist appears to speak, with the agency's logo in the background, advertise products said to help with diabetes or asthma; it reported the frauds to the police and sent Meta a legal request to remove the films.

Causal attribution. The agency's own notice of its complaint and removal request.

  • folkhalsomyndigheten.se(opens in new tab) supports · Swedish
    'På Facebook finns falska filmer, där det låter och ser ut som att Anders Tegnell medverkar, med Folkhälsomyndighetens logotyp i bakgrunden.'; 'Folkhälsomyndigheten har polisanmält bedrägerierna, och kontaktat företaget Meta, som äger Facebook, med en rättslig begäran om borttagning av de falska filmerna.'
Reported The former state epidemiologist said it was very sad that his and the agency's name were being exploited and that fraudsters were trying to profit from vulnerable people seeking help for health problems.

Causal attribution. His own statements (agency notice and SVT interview); one witness.

  • folkhalsomyndigheten.se(opens in new tab) supports · Swedish
    'Det känns hemskt tråkigt att mitt och myndighetens namn utnyttjas på det här viset, och att bedragare försöker sko sig på utsatta människor som vill ha hjälp med sina hälsoproblem'
  • svt.se(opens in new tab) supports · Swedish
    'Att man använder sig av mig för att lura dem ännu mer känns väldigt dåligt, säger Anders Tegnell.'
Reported The professor told Dagens Nyheter of being furious and that the adverts went against everything the professor stands for; in the professor's case the clips reportedly promoted preparations against parasitic infections of the blood vessels.

Causal attribution. The professor's statements to Dagens Nyheter, relayed by Expressen; one origin.

Reported SVT, citing Dagens Nyheter, reported that the police had at that time received about ten complaints about the clips, from both defrauded private individuals and doctors whose likeness was used.

Causal attribution. Police figure given to Dagens Nyheter and relayed by SVT; approximate.

  • svt.se(opens in new tab) supports · Swedish
    'Polisen hade vid tillfället fått in ett tiotal anmälningar om klippen både från lurade privatpersoner och läkare som utnyttjats.'
Reported Omni, relaying Dagens Nyheter, reported that several complaints had been made but the investigations had been closed because the offences were judged to have been committed in other countries.

Causal attribution. Dagens Nyheter's account as relayed by Omni; the DN passage itself was behind the paywall.

  • omni.se(opens in new tab) supports · Swedish
    'Flera anmälningar har gjorts men utredningarna har lagts ner eftersom man bedömer att brotten begåtts i andra länder.'

Sources

6 sources inspected, from 4 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Stockholm police region news item of 9 June 2025; the live URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-10-16 and the Internet Archive capture of 19 December 2025 was read in full. Applies to s1.

Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Public Health Agency of Sweden news notice of 4 July 2025, read in full (HTTP 200). Applies to s2.

Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. SVT Nyheter report of 5 July 2025 with its own interview of the former state epidemiologist; its police figures are relayed from Dagens Nyheter. Read in full (HTTP 200). Applies to s3.

Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Dagens Nyheter report of 19 June 2025; only the headline, standfirst and first quotation were readable before the paywall (HTTP 200). Applies to s4.

Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Omni summary of 19 June 2025 relaying the Dagens Nyheter report; read in full (HTTP 200). Same origin as the DN report. Applies to s5.

Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Expressen report of 4 July 2025 relaying the Public Health Agency notice and the Dagens Nyheter interviews; cited here only for the professor's quotation given to DN, so grouped with DN. Read in full (HTTP 200). Applies to s6.

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

The complaints were made to the Stockholm police region, and the depicted doctors are a Swedish agency adviser and a Swedish professor. Dagens Nyheter, as relayed by Omni, says the offences were judged to have been committed in other countries, and no source places the adverts' operation, so event countries are left unknown.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-16: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the investigating police state that fraudsters' AI-generated videos of doctors in social media adverts led complainants to fraudulent sites where their card details were taken and larger sums charged, and two depicted doctors and a government agency objected. Counts are partial and the AI attribution's technical basis is undisclosed.

People described

People in Sweden who reported to the Stockholm police that they were defrauded after following the adverts (number not stated), and two depicted doctors, a former state epidemiologist and a professor, who objected publicly

People reported harmed in this case

At least 2 people

0 AI participants · 2 other people harmed

Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.

The two depicted doctors who objected are counted (the professor's statement to Dagens Nyheter; the former state epidemiologist's statements and the agency's complaint). The defrauded complainants are described only as several (police) and, in a relayed figure that also includes doctors, about ten complaints, so they are an unquantified remainder.

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

Tags

#deepfake_advert#health_product_fraud#card_fraud#doctor_likeness#sweden

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Sweden: police say AI-generated videos of well-known doctors in social media ads led people to fraudulent sites and card fraud; doctors object. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-sweden-police-say-ai-generated-videos-of-known-doctors-in-health-product-ads-led-to-card-fraud

BibTeX

@misc{2025_sweden_police_say_ai_generated_videos_of_known_doctors_in_health_product_ads_led_to_card_fraud,
  title = {Sweden: police say AI-generated videos of well-known doctors in social media ads led people to fraudulent sites and card fraud; doctors object},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-sweden-police-say-ai-generated-videos-of-known-doctors-in-health-product-ads-led-to-card-fraud}
}

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