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NOPE
Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

Touba, Senegal: police say a man used a woman's photos in fake profiles and AI tools to change his voice on calls to draw people into explicit calls

Senegalese police in Touba said in February 2026 that a man had downloaded photos and videos a woman posted in her WhatsApp status updates and used them to create fake profiles. According to the investigation, he used artificial intelligence tools to transform his voice in real time during audio and video calls so that the female persona was believable, and through it attracted men and women, sent them sexual material and asked them for money or phone credit. The woman, a former in-law of the suspect, had complained on 16 February of a smear campaign and misuse of her images. Police say several victims were heard, that some had their images used for virtual prostitution, and that the suspect confessed after his arrest on 19 February. The police account does not say how investigators established the AI use or which tool it was.

AI system
Unidentified voice-changing tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
20 February 2026
Event location
Senegal
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person · Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Exploitation or AbuseReputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Privacy · Relationships
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
5 claims: 5 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 1 person

AI system as recorded: Artificial intelligence tools that transformed the suspect's voice in real time during audio and video calls, according to the Touba police investigation (tool not identified)

What Happened

The police account. The Ndamatou/Touba district police station in Senegal said it dismantled a digital criminal operation involving the collection and spread of pornographic material, fraud, blackmail and identity theft. The case began with a complaint filed on 16 February 2026 by a woman who said she was the target of a smear campaign and misuse of her images. Technical investigations identified the suspect, a former in-law of the complainant.

How the scheme worked, according to the investigation. The suspect downloaded photos and videos the woman had posted in her WhatsApp status updates and used them to create fake profiles. To make the female persona believable, he used artificial intelligence tools that changed his voice in real time during audio and video calls. Under this false identity he attracted men and women, sent sexual material and asked for money transfers or phone credit. He was unmasked when he posed as a victim's friend and asked that victim for financial help.

Victims. Police say several victims were interviewed. Some had their images used for virtual prostitution, and others were drawn into explicit video calls before the suspect asked them for money. Police were still working to identify all victims.

Arrest. The suspect was arrested on 19 February 2026 and held in custody for cyber-fraud, blackmail and illicit use of AI. Confronted with the digital evidence, he confessed, and he admitted collecting many compromising images through the scheme.

What is not known. Which AI tool was used, how investigators established its use, how many people were deceived, whether any money was paid and the outcome of the prosecution.

Reported harm

According to the Touba police, a woman's photos and videos were used in fake profiles whose operator used AI tools to change his voice on calls; she complained of a smear campaign and misuse of her images, some victims' images were used for virtual prostitution, and others were drawn into explicit video calls before being asked for money.

Outcome

Pending

The Ndamatou/Touba district police station arrested the suspect on 19 February 2026 and held him in custody for cyber-fraud, blackmail and illicit use of AI. Police say he confessed when confronted with the digital evidence and that the investigation continued to identify all victims. No charge decision or court outcome has been found.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI tool was used and how investigators established its use.
  • How many people were deceived, whether any of them paid money, and when the scheme began.
  • Whether the suspect was charged or tried, and the outcome.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Touba police investigation, relayed by RTS and PressAfrik, says the suspect used artificial intelligence tools to transform his voice in real time during audio and video calls so that a female persona built on the complainant's photos and videos was believable, and that through this persona he attracted men and women, sent them sexual material, drew some into explicit video calls and asked for money. The suspect was held for, among other things, illicit use of AI. The police do not disclose how they established the AI use or which tool it was, and the reported confession concerns collecting the images.

5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported Police say the case began with a complaint filed on 16 February 2026 by a woman who was the target of a smear campaign and misuse of her images, and that technical investigations identified the suspect as her former in-law.

Causal attribution. Police account relayed by two outlets; one origin.

  • rts.sn(opens in new tab) supports · French
    L’affaire a débuté à la suite d’une plainte déposée le 16 février 2026 par une dame victime d’une campagne de dénigrement et de détournement d’image.
  • pressafrik.com(opens in new tab) supports · French
    A l’origine de cette affaire, selon la Police, une dame avait déposé une plainte, le 16 février 2026, car elle était victime d’une campagne de dénigrement et de détournement d'images.
Reported According to the investigation, the suspect downloaded photos and videos from the woman's WhatsApp status updates to create fake profiles, and through them attracted men and women, sent them sexual material and asked for money or phone credit.

Causal attribution. The scheme as described by the police investigation.

  • rts.sn(opens in new tab) supports · French
    Il téléchargeait des photos et vidéos publiées sur les statuts WhatsApp de son ex-belle-sœur afin de créer de faux profils. ... Sous cette fausse identité, il attirait des hommes et des femmes, envoyait des contenus à caractère sexuel et sollicitait des transferts d’argent ou du crédit téléphonique.
  • pressafrik.com(opens in new tab) supports · French
    Il utilisait ses images pour appâter des hommes et des femmes, envoyant des fichiers à caractère sexuel et sollicitant des transferts d'argent ou du crédit téléphonique.
Reported According to the investigation, the suspect used artificial intelligence tools to transform his voice in real time during audio and video calls to make the female persona believable.

Causal attribution. AI attribution by the investigating police; the technical basis and the tool are not disclosed.

  • rts.sn(opens in new tab) supports · French
    Pour crédibiliser son personnage féminin, il utilisait des outils d’intelligence artificielle permettant de modifier sa voix en temps réel lors d’appels audio et vidéo.
  • pressafrik.com(opens in new tab) supports · French
    Pour parfaire son personnage féminin, il utilisait des outils d'Intelligence Artificielle (IA) afin de transformer sa voix en temps réel lors d'appels audio et vidéo.
Reported Police say several victims were heard, that some had their images used for virtual prostitution, and that others were drawn into explicit video calls before the suspect asked them for financial help.

Causal attribution. Harm to further victims as reported in the police account; number not given.

  • rts.sn(opens in new tab) supports · French
    Plusieurs victimes ont été entendues par les enquêteurs. Certaines ont vu leur image gravement atteinte, utilisée à des fins de prostitution virtuelle. D’autres ont été incitées à participer à des appels vidéo à caractère explicite, avant de découvrir la supercherie lorsque le suspect réclamait une aide financière.
Reported Police say the suspect was arrested on 19 February 2026, held in custody for cyber-fraud, blackmail and illicit use of AI, and confessed when confronted with the digital evidence.

Causal attribution. Procedural facts from the police account; the confession concerns collecting the images and is not described as covering the AI use specifically.

  • pressafrik.com(opens in new tab) supports · French
    Le Commissariat d’arrondissement de Ndamatou/Touba (est) a démantelé, le 19 février 2026, une entreprise criminelle numérique ... Le mis en cause est placé en garde à vue pour ... cyber-escroquerie, chantage et usage illicite de l'IA ... Interpellé et confronté aux preuves numériques, le mis en cause serait passé aux aveux complets.
  • rts.sn(opens in new tab) supports · French
    Interpellé et confronté aux preuves numériques recueillies, le mis en cause est passé aux aveux.

Sources

2 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 French by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. RTS report of 20 Feb 2026 relaying the police account; HTTP 200. Applies to s1.

Read in French by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. PressAfrik report of 20 Feb 2026 attributing the account to the police; HTTP 200. Relays the same police account as s1, so it is not independent. Applies to s2.

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

The complaint was filed with, and the arrest made by, the Ndamatou/Touba district police station in Senegal, and the police account places the scheme there, so the event country is Senegal. The complainant filed her complaint there, so her country is Senegal; the other victims' countries are not stated. No court proceeding is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-21: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated, communicated_with): the investigating Touba police say a man used AI tools to change his voice in real time on calls, making a female persona built on a woman's photos believable, and used it to send people sexual material, draw some into explicit video calls and ask for money; the woman complained of a smear campaign and misuse of her images. The attribution's technical basis is undisclosed. No name appears in the public record.

People described

A woman whose WhatsApp photos and videos were used to build fake profiles, and several men and women the police say were drawn by the fake persona into receiving sexual material, explicit video calls and requests for money

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.

One complainant, whose images were taken for the fake profiles (police account). Police say several further victims were heard but give no number, so they remain unquantified.

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

Tags

#voice_changer#fake_profiles#image_misuse#blackmail#senegal

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Touba, Senegal: police say a man used a woman's photos in fake profiles and AI tools to change his voice on calls to draw people into explicit calls. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-touba-senegal-police-say-man-used-ai-voice-changer-and-a-womans-photos-in-fake-profiles-to-lure-victims

BibTeX

@misc{2026_touba_senegal_police_say_man_used_ai_voice_changer_and_a_womans_photos_in_fake_profiles_to_lure_victims,
  title = {Touba, Senegal: police say a man used a woman's photos in fake profiles and AI tools to change his voice on calls to draw people into explicit calls},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-touba-senegal-police-say-man-used-ai-voice-changer-and-a-womans-photos-in-fake-profiles-to-lure-victims}
}

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