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Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

Thuringia police say a man in Altenburg lost about 42,000 euros to investment fraudsters after an AI-made advert showing a well-known politician

The Gera regional police reported on 18 June 2026 that an older man in Altenburg, Thuringia, had fallen victim to investment fraud. According to the police, he found an online advert made with artificial intelligence that showed a well-known politician and promised high returns. After he contacted the fraudsters in mid-May, he gave them personal data and remote access to his computer; they took control of his online banking and made several transfers totalling about 42,000 euros. The police say about 28,000 euros was secured; the investigation continues.

AI system
Unidentified AI tool
Occurred
May 2026
Reported
18 June 2026
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 reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
3 claims: 3 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: An online advert that, according to the Gera regional police, was created with artificial intelligence and showed a well-known politician (tool not identified)

What Happened

The advert. According to a release of the Gera regional police inspectorate of 18 June 2026, an older man in Altenburg came across an online advert that had been made with artificial intelligence and showed a well-known politician. The advert promised high profits from investments within a short time.

The fraud. After he contacted the unknown perpetrators in mid-May, he disclosed personal data and allowed them remote access to his computer. The fraudsters then took control of his online banking and made several transfers totalling about 42,000 euros. When he noticed the fraud he informed the police at once, and investigators were able to secure about 28,000 euros.

Police warning. The police warned in particular against AI-generated adverts featuring well-known people, which often lure people to a first investment of about 250 euros.

What is not known. The release does not name the politician or the platform, say how the police established that the advert was AI-made, or identify the tool.

Reported harm

According to the Gera police, an older man who responded to an AI-made advert showing a well-known politician lost about 42,000 euros in transfers from his online banking, of which about 28,000 euros was secured.

Outcome

Ongoing

The man informed the police when he noticed the fraud. The police say about 28,000 euros of the roughly 42,000 euros transferred could be secured through investigators' quick intervention; the fraud investigation continues and the perpetrators are unknown.

What remains unknown

  • Which politician the advert showed and on which platform it appeared.
  • How the police established that the advert was made with AI, and which tool.
  • Whether any perpetrator has been identified and whether the remaining money was recovered.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The investigating Gera police say the advert the man found had been created with artificial intelligence and showed a well-known politician promising high returns, and that after contacting the perpetrators through it he lost about 42,000 euros. The generated depiction of the politician was the lure toward the man. The police do not disclose how they established the AI creation or name the tool.

3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported According to the police, the man came across an online advert made with artificial intelligence that showed a well-known politician and promised high returns from investments.

Causal attribution. The investigating police state that the advert was made with AI; they do not disclose how they established this or name a tool.

  • presseportal.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    Im Internet stieß er auf eine vermeintliche Werbeanzeige, die mithilfe von Künstlicher Intelligenz erstellt worden war und einen bekannten Politiker zeigte. Darin wurden hohe Gewinne innerhalb kurzer Zeit durch Geldanlagen versprochen.
Reported After contacting the perpetrators in mid-May he gave them personal data and remote access to his computer; they took control of his online banking and made transfers totalling about 42,000 euros.

Causal attribution. Police account connecting the advert to the contact and the losses.

  • presseportal.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    Nachdem der Senior Mitte Mai Kontakt zu den bislang unbekannten Tätern aufgenommen hatte, gab er persönliche Daten preis und ermöglichte ihnen den Fernzugriff auf seinen Computer. Die Betrüger übernahmen daraufhin die Kontrolle über sein Online-Banking und veranlassten mehrere Überweisungen in Höhe von insgesamt rund 42.000 Euro.
Reported The police say about 28,000 euros was secured and the fraud investigation continues.

Causal attribution. Recovery and procedural status as reported by the police.

  • presseportal.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
    Durch das schnelle Eingreifen der Ermittler konnte ein Teil des Geldes - etwa 28.000 Euro - noch gesichert werden. Die weiteren Ermittlungen wegen Betrugs dauern an.

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 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. Landespolizeiinspektion Gera press release on presseportal.de, 18 June 2026; HTTP 200. Applies to s1.

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

The release of the Gera regional police concerns a man in Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany, so the affected person's country is Germany. The advert, the contact and the transfers took place online and the release does not say where the perpetrators acted, 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 investigating Gera police say an older man was drawn in by an AI-made advert showing a well-known politician and lost about 42,000 euros, about 28,000 of which was secured. The technical basis of the police attribution is undisclosed. No name or age appears in the public record.

People described

An older man who contacted investment fraudsters after an AI-made advert showing a well-known politician and lost money from his online banking

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One man, the defrauded investor (police release). The politician shown in the advert is not named and no response or consequence is reported for him, so he is not counted.

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

Tags

#investment_fraud#fake_celebrity_ad#remote_access#germany

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Thuringia police say a man in Altenburg lost about 42,000 euros to investment fraudsters after an AI-made advert showing a well-known politician. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-altenburg-thuringia-police-say-man-lost-about-42000-euros-after-ai-made-advert-showing-well-known-politician

BibTeX

@misc{2026_altenburg_thuringia_police_say_man_lost_about_42000_euros_after_ai_made_advert_showing_well_known_politician,
  title = {Thuringia police say a man in Altenburg lost about 42,000 euros to investment fraudsters after an AI-made advert showing a well-known politician},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-altenburg-thuringia-police-say-man-lost-about-42000-euros-after-ai-made-advert-showing-well-known-politician}
}

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