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Medium reported severity Media Coverage

Paraíso das Águas, Mato Grosso do Sul: a farmer lost more than R$700,000, including a R$360,000 loan, after a video call in which scammers used AI to simulate the Viva Sorte prize-draw presenter

Three Mato Grosso do Sul outlets, all crediting BNC Notícias, reported on 10 April 2026 that a rural producer from Paraíso das Águas fell for the so-called Viva Sorte scam. In a video call, scammers used AI deepfake technology to simulate the image and voice of Renato Ambrósio, the presenter of the Viva Sorte prize draws, told the farmer a prize had been won and set out steps to release it: Pix transfers, sending the CPF tax number and sharing the phone screen while the banking app was open. The farmer followed the instructions and took out a R$360,000 loan; with interest, the total loss exceeded R$700,000. One report says the farmer gave this account to the police. The farmer is not identified, no date is given and no arrest is reported.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
10 April 2026
Event location
Brazil
What the AI did
Communicated with the person · 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 alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account
4 claims: 4 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: AI deepfake technology used in a video call to simulate the image and voice of the Viva Sorte presenter, as reported (tool not identified)

What Happened

The account. Campo Grande News, MS Todo Dia and Midiamax each published the story on 10 April 2026, and each credits BNC Notícias for it, so the three reports are one reporting chain. A rural producer from Paraíso das Águas, about 277 km from Campo Grande, received a video call in which the caller appeared and sounded like Renato Ambrósio, the television presenter of the Viva Sorte prize draws. The reports say the scammers used AI (deepfake technology) to simulate the presenter's image and voice. The caller said the farmer had won a prize, used the farmer's full name and personal details, and listed steps for releasing the money: Pix transfers, sending the CPF number and sharing the phone screen with the banking app open.

The loss. The farmer followed the instructions, made transfers and took out a R$360,000 loan. With the interest on that loan, the total loss exceeded R$700,000. MS Todo Dia attributes the description of the call to the farmer's statements to the police, and Campo Grande News captions a photo of the Paraíso das Águas police station as the place where the case was registered.

Response. Viva Sorte posted a video saying it does not make video calls to customers and treats such calls as scams. Its official alert says it charges no fee to release prizes and never asks for bank details or screen sharing by phone or WhatsApp.

Limits. All three reports relay BNC Notícias. The BNC original and any police statement were not read. No date for the call, platform, suspect, arrest or recovery is given, and the reports do not say how the video was identified as AI-generated. A separate Distrito Federal case mentioned in two of the reports, in which the target's children stopped any payment, is not part of this record.

Reported harm

A farmer from Paraíso das Águas lost more than R$700,000, including a R$360,000 loan and its interest, after a video call in which scammers used AI to simulate the Viva Sorte presenter, according to three regional reports relaying BNC Notícias.

Outcome

Unknown

MS Todo Dia says the account comes from the farmer's statements to the police, and Campo Grande News captions a photo of the Paraíso das Águas police station as the place where the case was registered. No suspect, arrest or recovery of money is reported. Viva Sorte posted a video on its social media saying it does not make video calls to customers.

What remains unknown

  • When the video call and the transfers happened.
  • The platform used for the video call.
  • How the video was identified as AI-generated and which tool was used.
  • Whether police identified a suspect or any money was recovered.
  • The content of the original BNC Notícias report and of any police statement.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. All three reports say the scammers used AI (deepfake technology) to simulate the presenter's image and voice during a video call with the farmer. The AI-generated likeness was the channel through which the farmer was spoken to (communicated_with), and it impersonated the presenter (depicted_or_impersonated). The reports do not say how the video was identified as AI-generated or which tool was used.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported A rural producer from Paraíso das Águas received a video call in which scammers used AI deepfake technology to simulate the image and voice of Renato Ambrósio, the presenter of the Viva Sorte draws, and was told a prize had been won.

Causal attribution. Reported by three outlets relaying one BNC Notícias account; how the video was identified as AI-generated is not stated.

  • campograndenews.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'O crime foi aplicado por meio de uma videochamada, em que os golpistas usaram tecnologia de deepfake'; 'para simular a presença do apresentador Renato Ambrósio, responsável pelos sorteios do Viva Sorte'; 'o criminoso afirmou que a vítima havia sido contemplada'
  • mstododia.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'os criminosos utilizaram tecnologia de inteligência artificial para simular, durante uma videochamada, a imagem e a voz do apresentador Renato Ambrósio'
  • midiamax.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Os criminosos utilizaram inteligência artificial para fazer videochamada com a vítima, assim conseguiram utilizar a imagem e voz do apresentador.'
Reported The caller used the farmer's full name and personal details and asked for Pix transfers, the CPF number and sharing of the phone screen with the banking app open.

Causal attribution. MS Todo Dia attributes the description of the call to the farmer's statements to the police; not independently established.

  • campograndenews.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'O falso apresentador chamou o produtor pelo nome completo, mencionou informações pessoais'; 'Entre as exigências estavam transferências via Pix, envio de CPF e até o compartilhamento da tela do celular, permitindo que os criminosos visualizassem o acesso ao aplicativo bancário.'
  • mstododia.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Segundo relatos do produtor à polícia, a abordagem foi altamente convincente. O falso apresentador chamou a vítima pelo nome completo, mencionou dados pessoais'; 'Entre as exigências estavam transferências via Pix, envio de CPF e até o compartilhamento da tela do celular com acesso ao aplicativo bancário.'
Reported The farmer followed the instructions, took out a R$360,000 loan and, with the interest, lost more than R$700,000 in total.

Causal attribution. The loss amount is reported by one reporting chain; no police or bank figure was inspected.

  • campograndenews.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'acabou acumulando um prejuízo superior a R$ 700 mil'; 'a vítima seguiu as orientações e acabou realizando movimentações financeiras e assumindo um financiamento. Com os juros do empréstimo, o prejuízo final ultrapassou R$ 700 mil.'
  • mstododia.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'A vítima chegou a contratar um financiamento de R$ 360 mil'; 'Com os juros, o prejuízo total ultrapassou R$ 700 mil.'
  • midiamax.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Neste valor, está incluso um financiamento de R$ 360 mil.'
Reported Viva Sorte posted a video on its social media saying it does not make video calls to customers.

Causal attribution. Reported company response; the video itself was not inspected.

  • midiamax.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Nas redes sociais do Viva Sorte, foi publicado um vídeo afirmando que não realizam chamadas de vídeo com os consumidores.'

Sources

3 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in Portuguese on 2026-10-04 from the Wayback capture of 2026-04-10 (live page HTTP 403, site firewall). Researcher translation. Credits BNC Notícias. The outlet's AI-generated summary box was not used. Applies to s1.

Read in Portuguese on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Credits reporting by BNC, so it is in the same reporting chain as s1. Applies to s2.

Read in Portuguese on 2026-10-04 from the Wayback capture of 2026-04-10 (live page HTTP 403). Researcher translation. Ends with a credit to BNC Notícias, so it is in the same reporting chain as s1. Applies to s3.

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

The reports describe the victim as a rural producer from Paraíso das Águas, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and Campo Grande News says the case was registered at the town's police station. Where the callers were is not reported. No court proceeding is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-04: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: according to three regional reports relaying one BNC Notícias account, AI was used to impersonate a television presenter in a video call that led a farmer to lose more than R$700,000. The victim is unidentified in the sources, and the presenter is named only as the person impersonated.

People described

A rural producer from Paraíso das Águas, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil (not identified in the reports)

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person, the Paraíso das Águas farmer who lost more than R$700,000 (all three reports). The presenter whose likeness was simulated is not reported to have been harmed and is not counted, nor is the Distrito Federal target, who made no payment. Exact 1.

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

Tags

#deepfake#video-call#celebrity-impersonation#prize-scam#fraud#mato-grosso-do-sul#brazil

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Paraíso das Águas, Mato Grosso do Sul: a farmer lost more than R$700,000, including a R$360,000 loan, after a video call in which scammers used AI to simulate the Viva Sorte prize-draw presenter. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-paraiso-das-aguas-ms-deepfake-viva-sorte-presenter-video-call-farmer-loss

BibTeX

@misc{2026_paraiso_das_aguas_ms_deepfake_viva_sorte_presenter_video_call_farmer_loss,
  title = {Paraíso das Águas, Mato Grosso do Sul: a farmer lost more than R\$700,000, including a R\$360,000 loan, after a video call in which scammers used AI to simulate the Viva Sorte prize-draw presenter},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-paraiso-das-aguas-ms-deepfake-viva-sorte-presenter-video-call-farmer-loss}
}

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