{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-27T06:26:18.560Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"financial_loss","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2022","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":3,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":3,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"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":"2022-british-columbia-air-canada-website-chatbot-bereavement-fare-advice-tribunal-orders-compensation","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'they interacted with a support chatbot'; 'a chatbot is an automated system that provides information to a person using a website in response to that person'; 'If you need to travel immediately or have already travelled and would like to submit your ticket for a reduced bereavement rate, kindly do so within 90 days of the date your ticket was issued'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The tribunal records that on 11 November 2022 the passenger interacted with a support chatbot on Air Canada's website about bereavement fares, and that the chatbot's response, in a screenshot in evidence, said a ticket could be submitted for a reduced bereavement rate within 90 days of issue by someone who had already travelled.","causal_attribution":"Documented by the tribunal decision; the screenshot was in evidence and the tribunal later found the representation inaccurate."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'the bereavement policy does not apply to requests for bereavement consideration after travel has been completed'; 'booked a one-way flight from Vancouver to Toronto, departing on November 12, for $794.98'; 'relying on the same information, they booked a one-way flight from Toronto to Vancouver, departing on November 18, for $845.38'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The tribunal records that the airline's bereavement webpage said the policy did not apply after travel was completed, and that relying on the chatbot's information the passenger booked one-way flights between Vancouver and Toronto for $794.98 and $845.38.","causal_attribution":"Findings of fact in the decision."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'an Air Canada representative responded and admitted the chatbot had provided'; 'said Air Canada had noted the issue so it could update the chatbot'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The tribunal records that on 8 February 2023 an Air Canada representative admitted the chatbot had provided misleading words and said the airline had noted the issue so it could update the chatbot.","causal_attribution":"Documented by the decision from the airline's email in evidence."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'This is a remarkable submission.'; 'I find Air Canada did not take reasonable care to ensure its chatbot was accurate.'; 'would not have flown last-minute if they knew they would have to pay the full fare'; 'a total of $812.02, broken down as follows'; '$650.88 in damages'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Air Canada has been ordered to pay compensation to a grieving grandchild who claimed they were misled into purchasing full-price flight tickets by an ill-informed chatbot.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'has been ordered to pay compensation after its chatbot gave a customer inaccurate information'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The tribunal found negligent misrepresentation, rejected the airline's suggestion that the chatbot was a separate legal entity responsible for its own actions, found that Air Canada did not take reasonable care to ensure its chatbot was accurate, accepted that the passenger relied on the chatbot and would not have flown last-minute at full fare, and ordered the airline to pay $812.02 including $650.88 in damages.","causal_attribution":"The tribunal's own findings and order; the news reports relay the decision."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Last March, Air Canada’s chief information officer Mel Crocker told the Globe and Mail that the airline had launched the chatbot as an AI “experiment.”'; 'Air Canada’s initial investment in customer service AI technology was much higher than the cost of continuing to pay workers to handle simple queries.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Ars Technica reports that Air Canada's chief information officer told the Globe and Mail in March 2023 that the airline had launched the chatbot as an AI experiment, and describes the airline's investment in customer service AI technology.","causal_attribution":"The airline's own description of the chatbot, relayed by Ars Technica from a Globe and Mail interview that was not inspected; it describes the chatbot in general and does not say how the system produced the answer at issue."}],"effects":[{"label":"full fares paid in reliance on the chatbot's inaccurate bereavement-fare answer; $650.88 in damages found","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://decisions.civilresolutionbc.ca/crt/crtd/en/item/525448/index.do","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-12 through the tribunal's public decision page (iframe content); no translation was needed and the research agent (an AI) read the text directly.","independence_group":"bccrt-2024-149-decision"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/air-canada-chatbot-lawsuit-1.7116416","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-12; the report relays the tribunal decision and quotes it, so it shares the decision's independence group.","independence_group":"bccrt-2024-149-decision"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/16/air-canada-chatbot-lawsuit","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-12; the report relays the tribunal decision, so it shares the decision's independence group.","independence_group":"bccrt-2024-149-decision"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/02/air-canada-must-honor-refund-policy-invented-by-airlines-chatbot/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-12 by the second researcher (an AI) from the publisher page; no translation was needed. The article relays the tribunal decision and, separately, remarks Air Canada's chief information officer made to the Globe and Mail in March 2023; only those relayed remarks are cited here, and the Globe and Mail interview was not inspected.","independence_group":"globe-and-mail-2023-air-canada-cio-interview"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["What kind of AI system the chatbot was and how it produced this answer; the airline gave the tribunal no information about its nature, and its chief information officer's description of the chatbot as an AI experiment is known only through Ars Technica's relay of a Globe and Mail interview.","Whether Air Canada changed the chatbot after the case."],"geography":{"basis":"The decision records the booking of flights between Vancouver and Toronto through Air Canada's website after a death in Ontario, and the tribunal is the British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal; where the passenger lives is not used to locate anything.","court_countries":["CA"],"event_countries":["CA"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published on the tribunal decision, which documents the website chatbot's inaccurate answer, the passenger's reasonable reliance on it, the resulting full-fare purchase and an order for damages. The causal finding is the tribunal's; the chatbot's description as AI rests on the airline's chief information officer's remarks as relayed by Ars Technica, and how it produced this answer is recorded as unknown.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-12"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The tribunal records the chatbot's own generated answer (a screenshot saying a reduced bereavement rate could be claimed within 90 days of ticket issue after travel) and finds that the passenger reasonably relied on it to buy full-fare tickets, that the airline did not take reasonable care to ensure the chatbot was accurate, and that the reliance caused the loss. The tribunal describes the chatbot as an automated system answering a user's prompts and notes that Air Canada gave it no information about the chatbot's nature. Ars Technica reports that Air Canada's chief information officer told the Globe and Mail in March 2023 that the airline had launched the chatbot as an AI experiment (c5); how the system produced this particular answer is not established.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Air Canada website chatbot wrongly told a bereaved passenger a fare reduction could be claimed after travel; BC tribunal ordered the airline to pay damages","summary":"On 11 November 2022, after a grandparent died in Ontario, a passenger asked the support chatbot on Air Canada's website about bereavement fares. The chatbot's response, in a screenshot later filed in evidence, said a ticket could be submitted for a reduced bereavement rate within 90 days of issue, including after travel, while the airline's bereavement webpage said the policy did not apply after travel was completed. Relying on that answer, the passenger bought full-fare one-way tickets between Vancouver and Toronto for $794.98 and $845.38 and applied for the reduction on 17 November. In February 2023 an Air Canada representative admitted the chatbot had provided misleading words. On 14 February 2024 the British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal found negligent misrepresentation, rejected the airline's argument that it could not be held liable for its chatbot, found it had not taken reasonable care to ensure the chatbot was accurate, and ordered it to pay $812.02, including $650.88 in damages.","incidentDate":"2022-11-11","incidentEndDate":"2022-11-16","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2024-02-14","aiSystem":"Support chatbot on Air Canada's website answering a question about bereavement fares; the airline's chief information officer described it as an AI experiment (per Ars Technica), and the airline gave the tribunal no information about its nature","aiProduct":"Air Canada chatbot","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The tribunal found that the passenger relied on the Air Canada chatbot's inaccurate answer about bereavement fares, paid $1,630.36 in full fares, and was owed $650.88 in damages, which with interest and fees the airline was ordered to pay.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the applicant who relied on the chatbot's answer when buying full-fare tickets and to whom the tribunal awarded damages. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"CA","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://decisions.civilresolutionbc.ca/crt/crtd/en/item/525448/index.do","primarySourceLabel":"Moffatt v. Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 149, BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, 14 February 2024","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-12T03:22:10.337605+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T03:22:10.337605+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["customer-service-chatbot","airline","wrong-information","tribunal-decision","negligent-misrepresentation","canada"]},{"id":"2022-taiwan-ai-voice-changer-romance-fraud-ring-20000-victims-nt900m-57-indicted","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'更導入AI系統，將男員工、大媽的聲音變成甜美女生，在各大交友平台鎖定多金對象，談起網戀，要求對方送高價商品'; '將集團內22名實際從事「公關小姐」的甜美聲紋導入聊天系統中。因此不論男女，只要利用該系統聊天，出來的聲音都變成甜美女聲'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'警方表示，詐團還有工程師設計「AI變聲軟體」，偽裝成公關小姐要求被害人贈送禮物，甚至索討零用金、搬家費、買美容課程等款項'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"From 2022 a romance-fraud ring used AI voice-changing software, built by an engineer in the ring with the voiceprints of 22 hostesses, so that members chatting with targets on dating platforms sounded like young women.","causal_attribution":"Prosecutors' and police account relayed by two outlets (one chain); the software's role is their description and no court has ruled."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'不法所得超過9億元，被害人超過2萬人。台北地檢署今日偵結，起訴57名被告'; '許多被害人因此舉債度日'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'從2022年開始，被害人超過2萬人，詐騙金額超過9億元'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Prosecutors and police put the ring's victims at more than 20,000 and its criminal proceeds at more than NT$900 million since 2022, and say many victims went into debt.","causal_attribution":"Totals stated by prosecutors and police for the ring as a whole; the reports do not say how many victims heard the AI-converted voice."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'台北地檢署於今年5、7月指揮刑事警察局第四大隊第三隊展開搜索，查扣集團購入的法拉利、麥拉倫超跑，以及47支名表，更扣押高達3億元的不動產與帳戶，另外也帶回67台裝有「AI深偽程式」的犯罪電腦'; '首腦夫妻分別被求處25年、18年徒刑'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'檢方2日偵結，依違反《詐欺犯罪危害防制條例》等罪嫌，起訴57名被告'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"After searches in May and July 2026 that seized supercars, 47 watches, up to NT$300 million in property and accounts and 67 computers holding AI deepfake programs, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted 57 defendants on 2 September 2026 and asked for 25- and 18-year sentences for the couple who led the ring.","causal_attribution":"Indictment as reported by two outlets; allegations, not a court finding."}],"effects":[{"label":"more than 20,000 people defrauded of over NT$900 million in fake online romances, many left in debt","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/society/breakingnews/5560352","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-02 (Liberty Times staff reporters, Taipei, 2 September 2026); reports the prosecutors' indictment findings. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"taipei-prosecutors-ai-voice-romance-ring"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://news.pts.org.tw/article/825232","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-02 (PTS, 2 September 2026); reports police and prosecutors' findings and quotes a Criminal Investigation Bureau officer. Same official chain as s1. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"taipei-prosecutors-ai-voice-romance-ring"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["relationships","finance"],"unknowns":["How many of the more than 20,000 victims heard the AI-converted voice, and how the NT$900 million loss is divided among them.","Whether the voice-changing software was built on an existing product or model.","Where the victims live, and the court outcome."],"geography":{"basis":"The ring was investigated by Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau and indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, with the case transferred to the Taipei District Court (Liberty Times; PTS). The reports do not state where the victims live.","court_countries":["TW"],"event_countries":["TW"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: a fraud ring spoke to targets through AI voice-changing software in fake romances that prosecutors say defrauded more than 20,000 people. The account is the Taipei District Prosecutors Office's indictment as reported by the Liberty Times and PTS. The accused are named in reports and not named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-02"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Prosecutors and police say an engineer in the ring built AI voice-changing software that turned members' voices into a young woman's voice in the chat system used with targets (Liberty Times; PTS). The converted voice was a channel through which targets were spoken to (communicated_with). No forensic detail or underlying product is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Taiwan: a romance-fraud ring used AI voice-changing software so members sounded like young women on dating platforms; prosecutors say more than 20,000 people were defrauded of over NT$900 million and indicted 57 people in September 2026","summary":"According to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office and Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau, as reported by the Liberty Times and Public Television Service (PTS) on 2 September 2026, a fraud ring set up in 2022 by a married couple ran fake romances on dating platforms. An engineer in the ring built AI voice-changing software that loaded the voiceprints of 22 women working for the ring as hostesses into its chat system, so that any member, male staff and older women included, spoke to targets in a sweet young woman's voice. Members pressed the people they courted to buy expensive health supplements and gifts and to pay pocket money, moving costs and beauty courses, and the ring sent hostesses to meet some targets, in some cases for sex, to keep them paying. Prosecutors put the victims at more than 20,000 and the proceeds at more than NT$900 million since 2022, and say many victims are still living in debt. After searches in May and July 2026, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted 57 defendants on 2 September 2026 under the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act and asked for sentences of 25 and 18 years for the couple.","incidentDate":"2022-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-09-02","aiSystem":"AI voice-changing software built by an engineer in the fraud ring, which converted members' voices into a young woman's voice using the voiceprints of 22 hostesses (per prosecutors and police); investigators also seized 67 computers described as holding AI deepfake programs","aiProduct":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Prosecutors say more than 20,000 people were defrauded of a combined total exceeding NT$900 million by a romance-fraud ring whose members spoke to targets through AI voice-changing software, and that many victims went into debt (Taipei District Prosecutors Office via the Liberty Times and PTS).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":20000,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Prosecutors and police put the ring's victims at more than 20,000 (被害人超過2萬人; Liberty Times and PTS), counted as a documented minimum of 20,000 people defrauded. The figure covers the ring's victims since 2022; the reports do not say how many of them heard the AI-converted voice. The 22 hostesses whose voiceprints were used and the employees reportedly punished by the leader are ring members and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"TW","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/society/breakingnews/5560352","primarySourceLabel":"Liberty Times, 2 September 2026: 詐欺集團利用AI騙感情 逾2萬人受害損失9億元 起訴57人","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-02T03:35:49.482296+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-02T03:35:49.482296+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["voice-changing","romance-scam","dating-platforms","fraud-ring","taiwan","taipei","indictment","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2022-us-west-fake-49ers-romance-investment-fraud-ai-search-false-player-claims","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'[The accused] devised fictitious investment schemes to defraud numerous women'; 'in Oregon, Washington, and California from at least February 2022 until at least March 2026.'; 'date, investigators have identified 26 women whom investigators believe are victims of [the accused]'; '[the main accused] falsely told some of his victims that he was a wealthy 49ers player to'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The FBI has charged two men with scamming at least 26 women out of $1.3 million in four states. One of the alleged fraudsters posed as a San Francisco 49ers player.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"An FBI affidavit filed in the District of Oregon on 17 August 2026 alleges that the two accused devised fictitious investment schemes to defraud women from at least February 2022 until at least March 2026, that investigators have identified 26 women they believe are victims, and that the main accused posed to some of them as a wealthy San Francisco 49ers player.","causal_attribution":"Allegations in a sworn affidavit supporting a criminal complaint; the affidavit's contents are documented, the fraud itself is unproven."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Some victims became suspicious of [the main accused] and searched for [his] information'; 'search engines and artificial'; 'intelligence occasionally stated that [the main accused] was a bonafide 49ers player. In January 2026,'; 'sometimes depict [the main accused] as a player for the 49ers.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'investigators say sometimes reinforced [the main accused’s] social media lies when victims went online to check if the purported pro athlete really was who he said he was.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The affidavit states that some victims became suspicious and searched for the main accused online, and that because of his false social media representations, search engines and artificial intelligence occasionally stated that he was a bona fide 49ers player; investigators' own January 2026 searches sometimes depicted him as a 49ers player.","causal_attribution":"The affidavit attributes the false statements to his own social media posts; it does not name the AI product, quote an answer, or say which victims saw one or relied on it."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Then he posts a screenshot of a webpage AI Overview that says “[the main accused] is a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers'; 'Back on the screen, [the main accused] says, “That’s Google. That’s not me, that’s Google.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'in one since-deleted Instagram post about his “NFL Journey,” the fake football pro shared screenshots of a Google AI Overview'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The Los Angeles Times reports that in an Instagram Story titled 'NFL Journey' the main accused posted a screenshot of a Google AI Overview stating that he was a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, and said, 'That's Google. That's not me, that's Google.'","causal_attribution":"Los Angeles Times description of the post; Futurism relays it. When the Story was posted and whether any victim saw it are not reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'representatives confirmed [the main accused] has never been employed with the 49ers or the'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Representatives of the 49ers and the NFL told investigators the main accused had never been employed by either.","causal_attribution":"Statement recorded in the affidavit."}],"effects":[{"label":"women believed to be victims lost money to fictitious investments and loans in the alleged scheme","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the affidavit says some suspicious victims searched online and that search engines and AI occasionally stated the accused's false 49ers identity","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the accused displayed a Google AI Overview screenshot calling him a 49ers wide receiver as proof of his identity","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.195986/gov.uscourts.ord.195986.1.1.pdf","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Text layer of the 46-page affidavit read on 2026-09-29 (pdftotext); the reproduced search-results screenshot on page 8 is read from its text layer.","independence_group":"fbi-affidavit"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.aol.com/articles/alleged-fake-49ers-wideout-wooed-165722000.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Los Angeles Times article (27 August 2026) read in AOL syndication, which states it originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times; the reporter describes the Instagram Story directly and cites the U.S. Attorney's Office for the charges and totals.","independence_group":"latimes"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/man-ai-trick-women-nfl-fbi","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Futurism (1 September 2026) relays the affidavit's paragraph 10 and the Los Angeles Times account of the Instagram Story; not independent of s1 or s2.","independence_group":"latimes"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use","others_use"],"contexts":["finance","relationships","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Which AI product or products produced the statements the affidavit describes, and what the answers said.","How many of the 26 women searched and saw an AI-generated answer, and whether it affected any payment.","When the Instagram Story with the AI Overview screenshot was posted and who saw it.","The amount each victim lost; the $1.3 million total comes from the U.S. Attorney's Office as reported by the Los Angeles Times.","The outcome of the criminal case."],"geography":{"basis":"The affidavit places the victims in Oregon, Washington and California; the Los Angeles Times adds Idaho and reports the arrest at the Boise airport; charges are in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a case in which, according to an FBI affidavit, AI search answers repeated a fraudster's seeded false identity when some victims searched to check him. The AI element rests on one paragraph of a sworn FBI affidavit and on the Los Angeles Times description of a post by the accused; the fraud is alleged and unproven, the AI contribution to any loss is not measured, and the accused and victims are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Sworn FBI affidavit paragraph 10 states that some victims became suspicious and searched for him online, and that search engines and artificial intelligence occasionally stated he was a bona fide 49ers player; the Los Angeles Times describes his Instagram Story displaying a Google AI Overview screenshot making that claim. No AI answer seen by a victim is quoted, the AI product in the affidavit is unnamed, and Google has not commented in the inspected sources.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Alleged fake 49ers player romance-investment fraud: FBI affidavit says search engines and AI 'occasionally stated' he was a real player when victims checked","summary":"Federal prosecutors in Oregon have charged two men with wire fraud and conspiracy over an alleged romance-investment scheme run from at least February 2022 until at least March 2026. The FBI affidavit says investigators have identified 26 women they believe are victims, whom the two 'defrauded or attempted to defraud'; elsewhere it says all 26 sent money 'believing the money was being invested on their behalf'. Twelve of the thirteen victim accounts in the affidavit describe money sent or loaned, and one says she did not invest. The Los Angeles Times, citing the U.S. Attorney's Office, reports at least 26 women and $1.3 million across four states. With some victims, the main accused posed as a San Francisco 49ers player. The affidavit says that some victims became suspicious and searched for him online, and that because of his false social media posts, 'search engines and artificial intelligence occasionally stated' that he was a bona fide 49ers player. The Los Angeles Times describes an Instagram Story in which he displayed a screenshot of a Google AI Overview calling him a 49ers wide receiver and said, 'That's Google. That's not me, that's Google.' The 49ers and the NFL told investigators he was never employed by either. The charges are allegations; the sources do not say how many victims saw an AI-generated answer or how much it weighed in their decisions.","incidentDate":"2022-02-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-03-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-08-27","aiSystem":"Google AI Overview (the screenshot described by the Los Angeles Times); the FBI affidavit refers generally to 'search engines and artificial intelligence' without naming a product","aiProduct":"Google AI Overviews (reported)","aiCompany":"Google","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The FBI affidavit says investigators have identified 26 women they believe are victims of the alleged scheme, described in one paragraph as people the two accused 'defrauded or attempted to defraud' and in another as 26 who sent money believing it was being invested; twelve of the thirteen victim accounts in the affidavit describe money sent or loaned, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, puts the total at $1.3 million. The affidavit says some suspicious victims searched online and that search engines and AI occasionally stated he was a bona fide 49ers player, and he displayed a Google AI Overview making that claim as proof. How much the AI statements contributed to any individual loss is not reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":12,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"The FBI affidavit (paragraph 7) states investigators have identified 26 women they believe are victims of the scheme; paragraph 15 states that investigators have identified 26 victims who sent either accused money believing it was being invested; paragraph 27 describes the same 26 as women the accused 'defrauded or attempted to defraud', and one of the thirteen victim accounts (paragraph 31) states that the woman did not invest any money. The affidavit's aggregate statements therefore disagree about whether all 26 paid. The other twelve accounts each describe money sent, paid or loaned, so twelve is the number of people the affidavit documents individually as having paid, and that figure is used as the conservative minimum; the paragraph 15 total of 26 payers is recorded here as the affidavit's own higher statement. The Los Angeles Times, citing the U.S. Attorney's Office, reports at least 26 women scammed out of $1.3 million and says the FBI believes there are more; that figure is not broken down and is not used as the minimum. All counted people are placed under other people harmed because the sources do not say which of them personally searched and saw an AI-generated answer; the affidavit says only that 'some victims' searched, which is not a numeric lower bound, so no participant users are counted. These are allegations in a criminal complaint. Documented minimum 12.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.195986/gov.uscourts.ord.195986.1.1.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Affidavit of FBI Special Agent in support of criminal complaint and arrest warrant, United States v. Love and Chan, D. Or. No. 3:26-mj-00227, Doc. 1-1, filed 17 August 2026 (CourtListener RECAP)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T09:10:25.202711+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-09T03:07:29.610114+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["romance-scam","investment-fraud","google","ai-overview","false-claim","data-poisoning","dating-apps","criminal-charges","oregon","finance"]}]}