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NOPE
Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

Thanh Hóa, Vietnam: provincial police received reports from nearly 20 people threatened with fabricated sexual images of themselves unless they paid, one asked for 1.5 billion dong

Thanh Hóa provincial police said on 3 October 2026 that their cybersecurity and high-tech crime division had, since the start of October, received reports from nearly 20 people threatened with extortion using sexual images and videos spliced from their own photos, which senders threatened to publish unless money was transferred. One victim was asked for as much as 1.5 billion dong, and officials, including commune-level leaders, were among the targets. The police release says the material was made with technology; Báo Thanh Hóa, reporting information compiled from the same police division, says the senders used AI and deepfake technology to put victims' faces onto sexual images. No payment, arrest or named victim is reported.

AI system
Unidentified image and video tool
Occurred
Oct 2026
Reported
3 October 2026
Event location
Vietnam
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Exploitation or AbusePsychological Distress
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Privacy · Finance · Work
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account
6 claims: 6 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 1 person

AI system as recorded: AI and deepfake face-swapping used to put victims' faces onto sexual images, according to Báo Thanh Hóa reporting police information; the police release itself says only that technology was used to splice and edit images and videos (tool not identified)

What Happened

The reports. In a post on its portal on 3 October 2026, Thanh Hóa Provincial Police said its Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Division had, since the start of October, received reports from nearly 20 people threatened and extorted with sensitive images and videos that had been spliced. One victim was asked to transfer as much as 1.5 billion dong. The senders tended to target officials and civil servants, including commune-level leaders. According to the police, the senders collected victims' personal images from social media, used technology to splice and edit them into sexual images and videos, and sent them to the victims with threats to publish them unless money was transferred. Thanks to timely guidance, many did not pay. Dân trí and other national outlets restated the release on 3 and 4 October.

AI and further detail. Báo Thanh Hóa (3 October), in a section introduced as information compiled from the same police division, says the senders bought data online, used artificial intelligence and deepfake technology to put victims' faces onto sexual images, and repeatedly texted and called to force victims to pay. It reports the account of one threatened person, who said the senders kept texting and threatening to post the images on social media when the person did not reply, and that the threats left the person distressed. It reports that in some cases, when threats failed, the senders spread the fake images in social media groups. The police release itself does not name AI.

Limits. The count is approximate ('gần 20', nearly 20). No victim is identified, no payment is reported, and no arrest or perpetrator is reported. The AI characterisation comes from one outlet's account of police information. The tool is not named.

Reported harm

Nearly 20 people in Thanh Hóa were sent fabricated sexual images of themselves with demands for money and threats to publish them, one asked for 1.5 billion dong; one threatened person described distress, according to provincial police and Báo Thanh Hóa.

Outcome

Ongoing

The Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Division of Thanh Hóa Provincial Police received the reports, issued a public warning on 3 October 2026 and says many people did not pay after police guidance. Báo Thanh Hóa reports that most of the threatening numbers were junk SIM cards and that the senders used mass-messaging systems with servers abroad. No arrest is reported.

What remains unknown

  • The exact number of people threatened and whether any paid.
  • Whether the images were made with AI: the police release says only 'technology'.
  • Which tool was used and who sent the threats.
  • How many people had images spread in social media groups.
  • Whether any arrest has been made.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Báo Thanh Hóa, in a section introduced as information compiled from the provincial police cybersecurity division, says the senders used AI and deepfake technology to put victims' faces onto sexual images; the victims were depicted in that material (depicted_or_impersonated). The police portal post itself says only that technology was used to splice and edit images and videos. No tool or forensic finding is reported.

6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported Thanh Hóa Provincial Police said that since the start of October 2026 its cybersecurity division had received reports from nearly 20 people threatened and extorted with spliced sexual images and videos, and that one victim was asked to transfer as much as 1.5 billion dong.

Causal attribution. Police account of complaints received; no individual case is detailed in the release.

  • conganthanhhoa.gov.vn(opens in new tab) supports · Vietnamese
    'Từ đầu tháng 10/2026 đến nay'; 'Có nạn nhân bị yêu cầu chuyển tới 1,5 tỷ đồng'; 'đã tiếp nhận trình báo của gần 20 trường hợp bị đe dọa, tống tiền bằng hình ảnh, video nhạy cảm bị cắt ghép'
  • dantri.com.vn(opens in new tab) supports · Vietnamese
    'Gần 20 người ở Thanh Hóa trình báo công an với nội dung bị đe dọa, tống tiền bằng hình ảnh, video nhạy cảm được cắt ghép bằng công nghệ'
Reported According to the police, the senders collected victims' personal images from social media, used technology to splice and edit them into sexual images and videos, and sent them to the victims with threats to publish them unless money was transferred; they tended to target officials and civil servants, including commune-level leaders.

Causal attribution. The police describe the method as splicing with technology without naming AI.

  • conganthanhhoa.gov.vn(opens in new tab) supports · Vietnamese
    'sử dụng công nghệ để cắt ghép, chỉnh sửa hình ảnh, video theo hướng nhạy cảm'; 'các đối tượng có xu hướng nhắm vào cán bộ, công chức'; 'thu thập hình ảnh cá nhân của nạn nhân trên mạng xã hội'; 'rồi gửi cho chính nạn nhân kèm lời đe dọa sẽ phát tán công khai nếu không chuyển tiền'; 'trong đó có cả cán bộ lãnh đạo cấp xã'
Reported Báo Thanh Hóa, reporting information compiled from the police cybersecurity division, says the senders used AI and deepfake technology to put victims' faces onto sexual images and then repeatedly texted and called to force them to pay.

Causal attribution. One outlet's statement within a section attributed to police information; it is not a direct police quote, and the police release says only 'technology'.

  • baothanhhoa.vn(opens in new tab) supports · Vietnamese
    'Theo thông tin tổng hợp từ Phòng An ninh mạng'; 'Các đối tượng sử dụng trí tuệ nhân tạo (AI), công nghệ deepfake để ghép khuôn mặt nạn nhân vào hình ảnh có nội dung nhạy cảm'; 'Sau đó, chúng liên tục nhắn tin, gọi điện, đe dọa phát tán hình ảnh nhằm gây tâm lý bất an, buộc nạn nhân chuyển tiền'
Reported Báo Thanh Hóa reports that one threatened person said the senders kept texting and threatening to post the images on social media when the person did not reply, and reports that the threats left the person distressed.

Causal attribution. Account of one unnamed person as reported by one outlet.

  • baothanhhoa.vn(opens in new tab) supports · Vietnamese
    'Một người bị đe dọa cho biết, khi không trả lời, các đối tượng tiếp tục nhắn tin, dọa đưa hình ảnh lên mạng xã hội để làm mất uy tín'; 'Những lời đe dọa liên tiếp khiến người này hoang mang'
Reported Báo Thanh Hóa reports that in some cases, when threats failed, the senders spread the fake images in social media groups.

Causal attribution. Reported by one outlet; the number of such cases is not given.

  • baothanhhoa.vn(opens in new tab) supports · Vietnamese
    'đối tượng phát tán hàng loạt hình ảnh giả mạo vào các hội nhóm trên mạng xã hội'
Reported The police say many of those targeted did not pay after police guidance.

Causal attribution. Police statement; whether anyone paid is not reported.

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

Thanh Hóa Provincial Police portal post of 3 October 2026, read in Vietnamese on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. 'Nhạy cảm' (literally 'sensitive') is rendered 'sexual', its usual sense in Vietnamese reporting of image-based extortion; the source does not describe the images further. Applies to s1.

Báo Thanh Hóa, 3 October 2026, read in Vietnamese on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Draws on information compiled from the same police division, so it shares the police group; it is the only source for the AI and deepfake wording, the threatened person's account and the spreading of images in social media groups. 'Nhạy cảm' (literally 'sensitive') is rendered 'sexual', its usual sense in Vietnamese reporting of image-based extortion; the source does not describe the images further. Applies to s2.

Dân trí, 4 October 2026, read in Vietnamese on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Restates the police release; it dates the police information 4 October, which conflicts with the portal post of 3 October. Applies to s3.

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

Thanh Hóa Provincial Police report complaints it received from people in Thanh Hóa province, Vietnam (police portal; Dân trí: 'Gần 20 người ở Thanh Hóa'). Where the senders operated is unknown; Báo Thanh Hóa reports servers abroad. No court proceeding is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-04: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated), consistent with existing AI sexual-image extortion rows: provincial police reported nearly 20 complaints of extortion with fabricated sexual images of the victims, and the provincial newspaper, reporting the same police division's information, says AI and deepfake face-swapping was used. One police-derived chain; no victim is identified.

People described

Nearly 20 people in Thanh Hóa province, including officials and commune-level leaders, who reported extortion threats using fabricated sexual images of themselves (none identified)

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.

Police say they received reports of 'gần 20 trường hợp' (nearly 20 cases; Dân trí renders this 'Gần 20 người', nearly 20 people); an approximate figure is not a lower bound and is not recorded as 20. One threatened person whose account Báo Thanh Hóa gives is counted; the others are unquantified. Partial: 1 counted plus unquantified others.

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

Tags

#deepfake#sextortion#non-consensual-imagery#extortion#officials-targeted#vietnam#thanh-hoa

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Thanh Hóa, Vietnam: provincial police received reports from nearly 20 people threatened with fabricated sexual images of themselves unless they paid, one asked for 1.5 billion dong. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-thanh-hoa-fabricated-sexual-images-extortion-threats-officials

BibTeX

@misc{2026_thanh_hoa_fabricated_sexual_images_extortion_threats_officials,
  title = {Thanh Hóa, Vietnam: provincial police received reports from nearly 20 people threatened with fabricated sexual images of themselves unless they paid, one asked for 1.5 billion dong},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-thanh-hoa-fabricated-sexual-images-extortion-threats-officials}
}

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