{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-12T09:11:27.300Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"contractor","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"unknown","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":2,"languages":3,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":2,"minors":0,"coreRelations":0,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":3,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":3},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2023-asturias-court-security-guard-dismissal-unfair-after-switch-to-ai-camera-surveillance","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'La vigilancia presencial permanente dio paso a un sistema de cámaras con inteligencia artificial, rondas itinerantes y respuesta a alarmas'; 'Duro Felguera contrató el nuevo servicio con Securitas el 1 de agosto de 2023'; 'Securitas sustituyó el 95% del sistema anterior, instaló nuevas cámaras e incorporó cámaras con IA para el análisis de vídeo'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"From 1 August 2023 Duro Felguera replaced the continuous on-site guarding provided by Protectum with a Securitas service that combined cameras with artificial intelligence for video analysis, roving patrols and alarm response, according to La Razón's account of the judgment.","causal_attribution":"La Razón's account of the proven facts of the judgment; the judgment was not inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'dejó a los vigilantes de la anterior contrata fuera del nuevo contrato'; 'que había extinguido el contrato del empleado el 31 de julio de 2023'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The guards of the outgoing contract were left out of the new contract, and Protectum ended the claimant guard's employment on 31 July 2023.","causal_attribution":"La Razón's account of the case."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'La sentencia 1385/2024 del Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Asturias, fechada el 29 de julio de 2024'; 'la nueva adjudicataria quedó absuelta porque el sistema de rondas y vigilancia electrónica era diferente'; 'El despido, sin embargo, fue declarado improcedente'; 'El fallo le reconoció 30.672,72 euros por la extinción del contrato'; 'a razón de 58,76 euros diarios'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The High Court of Justice of Asturias (judgment 1385/2024, 29 July 2024) absolved Securitas of taking on the guard because the new service differed from the old, declared the dismissal unfair and ordered Protectum to pay €30,672.72 plus processing wages at €58.76 a day.","causal_attribution":"La Razón's account of the judgment."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'aunque siguió habiendo intervención humana'; 'La presencia de esa tecnología formaba parte de la reorganización acreditada, pero no convirtió el despido en procedente'; 'El tribunal señala que el nuevo contrato era más barato'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"La Razón states that human intervention continued in the new service and that the presence of AI was part of the established reorganisation without making the dismissal lawful; the court also noted that the new contract was cheaper.","causal_attribution":"La Razón's analysis and its account of the judgment; this limits how far the job loss can be attributed to AI."}],"effects":[{"label":"a security guard lost his job when the client replaced continuous on-site guarding with a remote-monitoring service that included AI video-analysis cameras and roving patrols","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.larazon.es/tecnologia-consumo/inteligencia-artificial/justicia-avala-empresa-reemplace-sus-vigilantes-fisicos-camaras-automatizadas-inteligencia-artificial-mantener-su-plantilla_202610096ac8c68ffb06971aadff1a69.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Read in full in Spanish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-12 (HTTP 200); the English assertions are the agent's translation and no human translator reviewed them. The article reports the content of TSJ Asturias judgment 1385/2024, which was not itself inspected.","independence_group":"larazon-tsj-asturias-1385-2024-account"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["work","justice"],"unknowns":["The location of the guarded installations and how many guards of the outgoing contract lost their jobs.","What the AI cameras analysed and how much of the reduction in on-site guarding they accounted for, as against roving patrols and remote operators.","Whether an appeal for the unification of doctrine was lodged and whether the compensation has been paid.","The text of judgment 1385/2024, which was not inspected."],"geography":{"basis":"The case was decided by the Gijón labour court and the High Court of Justice of Asturias (La Razón). The article does not state where Duro Felguera's guarded installations are, so no event country is recorded from the court's seat; the guard's residence is not stated.","court_countries":["ES"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a consequential-response case: according to La Razón's account of the judgment, a guard's employment ended when the client replaced on-site guarding with a service built on AI video-analysis cameras, and the High Court of Justice of Asturias declared the dismissal unfair. The AI connection and the ruling are reported from one newspaper account; the guard is a private person and is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-12"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"La Razón attributes the harm to a client's decision to adopt a security service that included cameras with AI for video analysis. La Razón, describing the proven facts of the judgment, reports that continuous on-site guarding gave way to a system of cameras with artificial intelligence for video analysis, roving patrols and alarm response, and that the guards of the outgoing contract were left out. It also reports that human guards still intervened and that the new contract was cheaper, so the AI cameras are one part of the reorganisation that ended the post. As La Razón reports it, the court's reasoning turned on the changed identity of the service (roving patrols and electronic surveillance, a 95% equipment renewal, a cheaper contract), and the AI cameras appear in its proven facts as one element of that renewal. No source says an AI system produced any output about the guard, so the relation is unknown under the consequential-response exemption.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Asturias court rules a security guard's 2023 dismissal unfair after a client replaced on-site guarding with AI cameras and patrols, La Razón reports","summary":"According to La Razón's account of a July 2024 judgment of the High Court of Justice of Asturias, Duro Felguera replaced the continuous on-site guarding provided by the contractor Protectum with a Securitas service that, from 1 August 2023, combined cameras with artificial intelligence for video analysis, roving patrols and alarm response. The guards of the outgoing contract were left out of the new one. Protectum ended a guard's employment on 31 July 2023. The court held that Securitas did not have to take him on because the new service was different, declared the dismissal unfair and ordered Protectum to pay him €30,672.72 in compensation plus processing wages. La Razón notes that human guards still intervened in the new service and that the presence of AI was part of the reorganisation without making the dismissal lawful.","incidentDate":"2023-07-31","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-09","aiSystem":"Cameras with artificial intelligence for video analysis, installed by Securitas as part of a remote-monitoring, roving-patrol and alarm-response service that replaced continuous on-site guarding; no product is named","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI video-analysis system","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to La Razón's account of the judgment, the guard lost his job when the client replaced continuous on-site guarding with a service built on AI video-analysis cameras, roving patrols and alarm response; the court declared the dismissal unfair and awarded him €30,672.72 plus processing wages against his former employer. Other guards of the outgoing contract were also left out; their outcomes are not reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One counted: the guard whose dismissal the court ruled on. La Razón says the guards (plural) of the previous contract were left out of the new contract but gives no number and does not report whether the others lost their jobs, so only the claimant is counted, as a documented minimum.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"ES","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.larazon.es/tecnologia-consumo/inteligencia-artificial/justicia-avala-empresa-reemplace-sus-vigilantes-fisicos-camaras-automatizadas-inteligencia-artificial-mantener-su-plantilla_202610096ac8c68ffb06971aadff1a69.html","primarySourceLabel":"La Razón, 9 October 2026: report on a High Court of Justice of Asturias judgment on guards replaced by AI cameras","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-12T03:17:24.169189+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T03:17:24.169189+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["dismissal","workplace-ai","security-guards","video-analytics","labour-court","unfair-dismissal","consequential-response"]},{"id":"2026-singapore-pandan-reservoir-ai-crocodile-image-search-false-message-charges","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'water activities in the reservoir were suspended for two days, with PUB and the National Parks Board (NParks) launching search-and-capture operations in the area'; 'it had ceased search operations, and water activities in the reservoir were allowed to resume from Aug 22'; 'On Aug 20, national water agency PUB received a report of a crocodile sighting at the reservoir, accompanied by a photo'; 'On Aug 21, PUB said in a Facebook post that it had filed a police report after verifying that the photograph of the supposed crocodile was fake'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The Singapore Rowing Association and Singapore Canoe Federation were told the suspend their activities'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"After PUB received a report of a crocodile sighting with a photo on 20 August 2026, water activities at Pandan Reservoir were suspended for two days, rowing and canoe bodies were told to suspend activities, and PUB and the National Parks Board ran search-and-capture operations until PUB found the photo fake on 21 August; activities resumed on 22 August.","causal_attribution":"PUB's own statements as reported."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'preliminary investigations found that the man had used artificial intelligence to generate a fake image of a crocodile at Pandan Reservoir and sent it to his colleague'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The man subsequently deleted the image and the related application in an attempt to conceal his actions,'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Police said preliminary investigations found the man used artificial intelligence to generate the fake image, sent it to a colleague, and then deleted the image and the related application to conceal his actions.","causal_attribution":"The police statement; the allegations are untested in court."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'allegedly sent the AI-generated image of a crocodile at Pandan Reservoir to another person on Aug 20'; 'deleted the digitally edited image and the Gemini AI application history log from his phone on Aug 21'; 'said he intends to plead guilty and will not be engaging a lawyer'; 'was charged in court on Sept 29'; 'was handed one charge for transmitting a false message, and another for obstructing the course of justice'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'deleting the image and the Gemini app from his phone'","relation":"context","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"On 29 September 2026 the 30-year-old was charged with transmitting a false message and with obstructing the course of justice; the charge sheets, as reported, say he sent the AI-generated image to another person on 20 August and deleted the image and the Gemini AI application history log from his phone on 21 August. He said he intended to plead guilty.","causal_attribution":"Court reporting of the charge sheets; the charge sheets were not read directly."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'It then tried to verify the image using'; 'various AI checker tools'; 'with no definite results'; 'PUB acted quickly and took the necessary precautionary measures'; 'is a worker employed by its reservoir maintenance contractor'; 'supervisor had alerted PUB to the image on Aug 20'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"PUB said it had tried to verify the image with various AI checker tools without definite results and acted as a precaution, and that the man is employed by its reservoir maintenance contractor; his supervisor alerted PUB to the image.","causal_attribution":"PUB's 1 October Facebook post as reported by The Straits Times."}],"effects":[{"label":"water activities at a public reservoir suspended for two days and a search mounted after a fake AI image was reported","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the worker who allegedly made the image charged with transmitting a false message and obstructing justice","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/man-charged-over-fake-image-of-crocodile-at-pandan-reservoir","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English on 2026-10-02 (The Straits Times court desk, 29 September 2026): the charges and the charge-sheet particulars.","independence_group":"sg-court-charges"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/man-to-be-charged-over-fake-photo-of-crocodile-sighting-at-pandan-reservoir","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English on 2026-10-02 (The Straits Times, 28 September 2026): the police statement and PUB's earlier statements.","independence_group":"spf-pub-statements"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/fake-image-of-crocodile-in-reservoir-put-through-ai-checks-but-results-were-inconclusive-pub","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English on 2026-10-02 (The Straits Times, 1 October 2026): PUB's 1 October Facebook post on its AI checks and the man's employment.","independence_group":"spf-pub-statements"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6grveg7d9zro","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English on 2026-10-02 (BBC, 29 September 2026); quotes the police statement and relays local court reporting.","independence_group":"spf-pub-statements"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.techspot.com/news/114061-ai-image-crocodile-reservoir-triggers-search-leaves-singapore.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English on 2026-10-02 (TechSpot, 1 October 2026); a rewrite of Singapore reporting, not independent. It attributes the Gemini app deletion to the police, whose statement names no application.","independence_group":"sg-court-charges"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["public_services","justice","work"],"unknowns":["Why the image was made and how it passed from the colleague to the supervisor and PUB.","The outcome of the case when it returns to court in November.","The public cost of the search operations."],"geography":{"basis":"Pandan Reservoir is in Singapore; PUB and the National Parks Board responded there, and the man was charged in a Singapore court (The Straits Times; BBC). He is a Myanmar national working in Singapore; his nationality does not change the event location.","court_countries":["SG"],"event_countries":["SG"],"affected_person_countries":["SG"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a case of an AI-generated false image that triggered a two-day public-safety response by a national agency and led to criminal charges against the person who allegedly made it. The facts rest on PUB and police statements and court reporting. The accused is not named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-02"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The police said preliminary investigations found the man used artificial intelligence to generate the image (The Straits Times; BBC). The charge sheets, as reported by The Straits Times, say he deleted the image and the Gemini AI application history log from his phone. PUB said its AI checker tools gave no definite result before it found the photo fake. The image was not inspected and the court has not ruled.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Singapore: an AI-generated photo of a crocodile at Pandan Reservoir led PUB to suspend water activities and search the reservoir in August 2026; a contractor's worker who allegedly made it was charged with transmitting a false message and with obstructing justice for allegedly deleting the image and the Gemini app history","summary":"On 20 August 2026 Singapore's national water agency PUB received a report of a crocodile sighting at Pandan Reservoir, with a photo. PUB said it tried to verify the image with several AI checker tools without a definite result, so it suspended water activities, told the Singapore Rowing Association and Singapore Canoe Federation to stop all activities there, put up warning signs and, with the National Parks Board, ran search-and-capture operations. On 21 August PUB found the photo was fake, stopped searching and filed a police report; water activities resumed on 22 August. Police said on 28 September that preliminary investigations found a man had used artificial intelligence to generate the image, sent it to a colleague, and then deleted the image and the related application to conceal his actions. On 29 September the 30-year-old, a worker employed by PUB's reservoir maintenance contractor, was charged with transmitting a false message and with obstructing the course of justice; the charge sheets, as reported by The Straits Times, say he deleted the image and the Gemini AI application history log from his phone on 21 August. He told the court he intended to plead guilty, and the case returns to court in November.","incidentDate":"2026-08-20","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-28","aiSystem":"AI-generated image of a crocodile at Pandan Reservoir; the charge sheets as reported refer to the Gemini AI application history log the accused deleted","aiProduct":"Gemini (reported)","aiCompany":"Google","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["legal_harm","other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"An AI-generated crocodile photo led PUB to suspend water activities and search Pandan Reservoir for two days, and the worker who allegedly made and shared it now faces charges carrying up to three and seven years' jail (PUB and police statements and court reporting via The Straits Times and the BBC).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the man charged over the image (The Straits Times; BBC). Reservoir users whose activities were suspended are not individually reported and are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"SG","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/man-charged-over-fake-image-of-crocodile-at-pandan-reservoir","primarySourceLabel":"The Straits Times, 29 September 2026: Man charged over fake image of crocodile at Pandan Reservoir","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-02T03:15:06.027318+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-02T03:15:06.027318+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-images","hoax","false-message","public-services","criminal-charges","gemini","singapore"]},{"id":"2026-taichung-renovation-contractor-suspected-ai-progress-photos-homeowners","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'透過臉書粉絲團找上標榜老屋翻修的裝修業者'; '工程原訂去年8月20日開工、預計今年3月底完工。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'雙方約定去年8月20日開工，預計今年3月底完工。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"A homeowner in Taichung's East District hired a renovation business found through a Facebook fan page; work was due to start on 20 August 2025 and finish by the end of March 2026.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's account."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'H小姐一路配合付款達255萬3275元。'; '一樓也堆滿營建廢棄物'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'截至今年3月底，H小姐已陸續給付255萬3,275元'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'屋主到現場查看時更不敢相信，房子竟變成建築廢棄物堆置場。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"By the end of March 2026 she had paid NT$2,553,275 while the contractor sent progress photos and payment slips and repeatedly delayed; the house was left gutted with construction waste on the ground floor.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's account and the reporters' observation of the house (ETtoday photographed the site)."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'她將施工照片丟進AI圖片識別網頁檢測，發現幾乎都是99.9%的AI合成成分。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'屋主用AI檢測的軟體檢查照片，發現連工人都是AI畫上去'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'甚至傳送多張幾可亂真的「AI合成施工照」回報進度。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"She says the progress photos were AI-generated: an AI-image detection website rated them about 99.9% AI, and they showed workers and fittings that did not match the house.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's detector result and comparison; outlets describe the images as suspected AI composites; no forensic finding by police reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'另一名屋主C小姐同樣受害，她轉帳188萬元，又面交28萬多元，總計付出200多萬元。'; '雖然業者沒有傳AI圖給她，但她後來查看粉絲專頁，發現上面的照片都是AI合成。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'還發現目前受害已經有三人。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A second homeowner in Dali District paid more than NT$2 million to the same contractor; she did not receive AI images but says the business's fan page photos were AI-generated. CTS reports three victims so far.","causal_attribution":"Second homeowner's account (TVBS); victim count from CTS."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'詢問是否用AI圖回報假進度，對方否認。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'不過詢問裝修業者，對方否認詐騙，進一步詢問細節卻不願多說。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A designer at the business denied using AI images to report false progress.","causal_attribution":"Contractor's response as reported."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'她已報案提告詐欺，累計匯款金額達255萬多元。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'目前全案已由檢警偵查，並嘗試併案擴大偵辦。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"She has reported the case to police and filed a fraud complaint; ETtoday reports prosecutors and police are investigating and trying to combine related complaints.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's statement and ETtoday's report of the investigation."}],"effects":[{"label":"paid about NT$2.55 million on the strength of allegedly AI-generated progress photos while the house was left gutted","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://house.ettoday.net/news/3245899","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-01 (ETtoday 房產雲, reporter's own visit and interviews, 29 September 2026). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"ettoday-taichung-renovation"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://news.tvbs.com.tw/local/4029203","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-01 (TVBS, 29 September 2026; includes a call to the contractor). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"tvbs-taichung-renovation"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://news.cts.com.tw/cts/general/202609/202609293084245.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-01 (CTS, 29 September 2026; includes the contractor's refusal). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"cts-taichung-renovation"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://fuhouse.setn.com/news/1914625","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-01 (SETN 富房網, 29 September 2026; images credited to the Housing Consumer Protection Association). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"housing-consumer-association-release"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether the progress photos were in fact AI-generated; the evidence reported is an online detector result and visual comparison, and the contractor denies it.","Which tool made the images.","Whether the third victim reported by CTS received AI images.","The outcome of the police and prosecutors' investigation."],"geography":{"basis":"Both houses are in Taichung (East District and Dali District), Taiwan, and the contractor operates in the Taichung-Changhua-Nantou area (ETtoday; TVBS). No court ruling is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["TW"],"affected_person_countries":["TW"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an adverse consumer experience in which allegedly AI-generated progress photos were used to keep a homeowner paying for unperformed work. The account is the homeowners' and the Housing Consumer Protection Association's, reported by ETtoday, TVBS, CTS and SETN; AI involvement is suspected and denied by the contractor. Homeowners appear only by initials in the sources and are not identified here; the contractor and designer are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-01"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The homeowner says an AI-image detection website rated the contractor's progress photos about 99.9% AI-generated, and she and the Housing Consumer Protection Association point to workers and fittings that do not match the house (TVBS; CTS; ETtoday). The outlets describe the photos as suspected AI composites, and a designer at the business denied using AI images (TVBS). No forensic analysis by police is reported. The images were sent by the contractor; they depict the property, not the homeowner, and no source shows an AI system communicating with her, so the relation is recorded as unknown.","status":"suspected"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Taichung, Taiwan: a homeowner who paid a renovation contractor about NT$2.55 million says the construction-progress photos it sent were AI-generated while the house was left full of debris; she has filed a fraud complaint with police, a second homeowner describes similar losses, and the contractor denies using AI images","summary":"A homeowner in Taichung's East District hired a renovation business she found through a Facebook fan page to renovate her four-storey house, with work due to start on 20 August 2025 and finish by the end of March 2026 (ETtoday). By the end of March 2026 she had paid NT$2,553,275 while the contractor cited repeated reasons for delay and sent progress photos and payment slips for materials. She became suspicious when an air-conditioning supplier named on one of the contractor's payment slips said it had not received the payment, compared the photos with the site, and ran them through an AI-image detection website, which rated them almost entirely (99.9%) AI-generated; the photos showed workers and fittings that did not exist, and the house was left gutted with construction waste piled on the ground floor (TVBS; CTS; ETtoday). She has reported it to police and, with a lawyer, filed a fraud complaint. A second homeowner in Dali District paid more than NT$2 million to the same contractor, did not receive AI images, and says the business's fan page used AI-generated pictures; CTS reports three victims so far. A designer at the business denied to TVBS that it used AI images to report false progress, and ETtoday reports prosecutors and police are investigating.","incidentDate":"2025-07-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-04-30","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-09-29","aiSystem":"Construction-progress photos and Facebook advertising images that the homeowner and a housing consumer group say were AI-generated (an online AI-image detector rated the progress photos 99.9% AI); the contractor denies it; no tool identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool (suspected)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","property_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A homeowner says she paid about NT$2.55 million to a renovation contractor that kept her paying with what she and a consumer group say were AI-generated progress photos, while her house was left gutted and full of debris; a second homeowner lost more than NT$2 million to the same business (ETtoday; TVBS; CTS). The contractor denies using AI images.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":3,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"CTS reports three victims so far who plan a joint complaint ('目前已經累積三名受害者'); two are described with their payments, the East District homeowner (NT$2,553,275) and the Dali District homeowner (more than NT$2 million) (ETtoday; TVBS). Documented minimum 3.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"TW","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://house.ettoday.net/news/3245899","primarySourceLabel":"ETtoday房產雲, 29 September 2026: AI淪裝修詐騙新工具！　台中女噴255萬「透天厝打爛變廢墟」","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-01T03:17:57.172561+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-01T03:17:57.172561+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-images","renovation-fraud","consumer-fraud","facebook","taiwan","taichung","police-report"]}]}