{ "meta": { "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T17:44:13.667Z", "formatVersion": 2, "selection": { "q": "impersonation", "system": "", "harm": "", "context": "", "country": "", "role": "", "relation": "core", "evidence": "", "year": "unknown", "response": "", "severity": "", "verification": "", "view": "incidents", "sort": "added" }, "totalIncidents": 3, "coverage": { "cases": 3, "countries": 3, "languages": 2, "unknownLocation": 0, "locationPending": 0, "unknownLanguage": 0, "unknownDate": 3, "lawsuits": 0, "regulatory": 1, "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": "NOPE Incident Tracker", "url": "https://nope.net/incidents", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "incidents": [ { "id": "2026-campo-grande-ms-ai-voice-clone-brother-car-purchase-pix-fraud", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'os golpistas usaram informações sobre sua família e uma voz clonada para fazê-lo acreditar que estava negociando um automóvel com a ajuda do próprio irmão'; 'Márcio passou o contato do irmão para que ele pudesse verificar o carro presencialmente. Foi a partir desse momento que os criminosos passaram a se fantasiar do familiar'; '\"Entraram em contato comigo como se fosse o meu irmão, falando que já viu o carro, mandou vídeo e que estava tudo certo\"'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "After the workshop owner passed his brother's contact to a supposed seller in Ponta Porã, the fraudsters contacted him as if they were his brother, saying the brother had seen the car, sending a video and confirming that everything was in order; he says they used information about his family and a cloned voice.", "causal_attribution": "The victim's account as reported by G1 MS." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Acreditando que conversava com o parente, Márcio fez um Pix de aproximadamente R$ 28 mil para pagar pelo veículo. Logo depois, os criminosos bloquearam o contato'; 'acionou o banco pelo aplicativo e solicitou a contestação da transferência por meio do Mecanismo Especial de Devolução (MED) do Banco Central. Após quase três horas de atendimento, registro presencial e apresentação do boletim de ocorrência, ele conseguiu reaver cerca de 20% do valor perdido'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Believing he was talking to his brother, he made a Pix transfer of about R$28,000 for the car, after which the criminals blocked contact; he contested the transfer through the Central Bank's return mechanism and recovered about 20 percent after nearly three hours, an in-person registration and a police report.", "causal_attribution": "The victim's account; the loss is attributed to the fraudsters." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'a mãe recebeu mensagens, um áudio e um vídeo de uma pessoa que se passava pela estudante'; 'Na gravação com a voz clonada, o criminoso afirmava que já estava no estabelecimento, que havia vistoriado o carro e o mecânico responsável também teria aprovado o veículo. A suposta Isabela autorizava, então, o pagamento via Pix'; 'A mãe, contudo, decidiu confirmar a informação diretamente com a filha. Foi quando descobriu que Isabela não estava no local e o áudio havia sido gerado por inteligência artificial'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "In a second case, a medical student's mother in Dourados received messages, an audio and a video from someone posing as her daughter, in a cloned voice, saying she had inspected an HB20 at the family's trusted workshop and authorising the Pix; the mother checked directly with her daughter, found she was not there and that the audio had been AI-generated, and did not pay.", "causal_attribution": "The student's account as reported by G1 MS; no loss occurred." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'afirmou que a unidade ainda não catalogou casos idênticos com o uso específico de clonagem de voz, o que sinaliza a novidade do modus operandi'; 'A reportagem questionou a Polícia Civil de Mato Grosso do Sul sobre esse tipo de crime, mas não obteve retorno até a última atualização desta reportagem'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "A prosecutor of the Mato Grosso do Sul Public Ministry said the unit had not yet catalogued identical cases with voice cloning and recommended registering police reports even for attempts; G1 said the Civil Police had not responded to its questions.", "causal_attribution": "Prosecutor's statement to G1 MS." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "about R$28,000 transferred by Pix after voice notes in a brother's AI-cloned voice 'confirmed' a car purchase; about a fifth recovered", "claim_id": "c2", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://g1.globo.com/ms/mato-grosso-do-sul/noticia/2026/09/19/novo-golpe-do-pix-usa-voz-clonada-de-familiares-para-enganar-vitimas-em-negociacoes-de-carros.ghtml", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "pt", "translation_note": "Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-21 (HTTP 200; bylined Ana Karla Flores and Geane Beserra, g1 MS and TV Morena, 19 September 2026). Based on the two families' accounts and statements from a lawyer and a prosecutor; quotations translated by the reviewer.", "independence_group": "g1-ms-2026-09-19" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "finance", "everyday_life", "relationships" ], "unknowns": [ "The date of the fraud and the police report are not stated.", "The voice-cloning tool is not identified and no police or technical confirmation of the AI element is reported.", "The exact amount transferred and recovered ('aproximadamente R$ 28 mil'; 'cerca de 20%') are approximate in the report.", "How the fraudsters obtained the brother's voice, and whether the seller's advertisement or accounts were traced, is not reported.", "No arrest or later coverage was found." ], "geography": { "basis": "Victim's workshop in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul; the car was supposedly in Ponta Porã; the second targeted family is in Campo Grande and Dourados (G1 MS). Police report registered; no court proceeding.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "BR" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "BR" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an impersonation-fraud case with a concrete financial loss reported by the victim in a bylined regional report that also documents a police report and the bank's partial return. One source read in full; claims recorded as reported and attributed. The victims are named in the report and are not named here.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-21" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The victim and G1 MS describe the audios as a cloned voice produced with artificial intelligence, and G1 publishes images of the audio messages; in the second case the mother found the audio 'havia sido gerado por inteligência artificial'. No police or technical confirmation of the AI element is reported and the tool is not identified.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul: a workshop owner paid about R$28,000 by Pix for a car after messages and voice notes in his brother's AI-cloned voice 'confirmed' the vehicle; a second family avoided the same fraud by checking directly with their daughter", "summary": "A businessman who owns a workshop in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, found a car advertised at a market price by a seller who said he was in Ponta Porã, the businessman's home town; he passed his brother's contact so the brother could inspect the car. The fraudsters then contacted him as if they were his brother, saying he had seen the car, sending a video and confirming everything was in order; believing he was speaking to his brother, he made a Pix transfer of about R$28,000, after which the contact was blocked. He told G1 MS and TV Morena that the criminals used information about his family and a cloned voice. Guided by his wife, he contested the transfer through the Central Bank's special return mechanism and, after nearly three hours, a police report and an in-person registration, recovered about 20 percent. In a second case reported alongside, a medical student's mother in Dourados received messages, a voice note and a video from someone posing as her daughter, in a cloned voice, approving payment for an HB20 she was buying in Campo Grande; the mother checked directly with her daughter and discovered the audio had been AI-generated before any money was sent. A state prosecutor said his unit had not yet catalogued identical voice-cloning cases and urged victims to file police reports; the Civil Police did not respond to G1's questions. The date of the fraud is not reported.", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "unknown", "exposurePattern": "single_interaction", "reportedDate": "2026-09-19", "aiSystem": "AI voice cloning (tool not identified)", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "financial_loss" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "The workshop owner lost about R$28,000 in a Pix transfer made after voice notes and messages in his brother's AI-cloned voice 'confirmed' the car purchase, recovering about a fifth through the bank's return mechanism (his account to G1 MS and TV Morena).", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "One victim who made the transfer (G1 MS). The brother whose voice was imitated reports no loss; the student and her mother avoided the fraud before paying and are not counted. Exact 1.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "BR", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "media_coverage", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://g1.globo.com/ms/mato-grosso-do-sul/noticia/2026/09/19/novo-golpe-do-pix-usa-voz-clonada-de-familiares-para-enganar-vitimas-em-negociacoes-de-carros.ghtml", "primarySourceLabel": "G1 MS and TV Morena, 19 September 2026: Voz clonada por IA ajuda golpistas a aplicar golpe de R$ 28 mil em compra de carro em Mato Grosso do Sul", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-21T04:11:23.184568+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "voice-cloning", "impersonation", "car-purchase-fraud", "pix", "brazil", "mato-grosso-do-sul", "campo-grande", "financial-loss" ] }, { "id": "2026-surat-mp-dholakia-deepfake-old-coin-fraud", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'used artificial intelligence to manipulate publicly available videos and photographs of Dholakia, replacing the original audio with a voice-over'; 'created multiple fake Facebook profiles using the name \"Old Coin Company\"'; 'his organisation, SRK, to approach the Surat Cyber Crime Police'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "A publicly available video of MP Govind Dholakia was manipulated with AI and re-voiced to promote high-value old-coin deals; fake 'Old Coin Company' Facebook profiles used his images; his organisation SRK complained to Surat Cyber Crime Police after members of the public contacted him.", "causal_attribution": "Police account reported by India Today; single chain." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Victims were then asked to transfer amounts ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 through UPI'; 'Nine complaints registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) across the country have been linked to these accounts, with the total fraud amount reported at approximately Rs 9.84 crore'; 'arresting the two men'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Victims were asked to pay Rs 1,000 to 1,500 by UPI as fees; police arrested two men from Nuh, Haryana, linked ten bank accounts to them and connected nine NCRP complaints totalling about Rs 9.84 crore to those accounts.", "causal_attribution": "Police account reported by India Today; the Rs 9.84 crore figure is the police total for the linked complaints, not necessarily the coin scheme alone." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "people paid UPI 'fees' to an old-coin fraud fronted by an AI-manipulated video of an MP; nine cybercrime complaints linked to the accused's accounts", "claim_id": "c2", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/other-cities/story/surat-mp-deepfake-scam-govindbhai-dholakia-old-coin-fraud-two-arrested-2996319-2026-09-16", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-18 via the MSN content API copy of the India Today report (16 Sep 2026), which names the source URL; it carries the Surat Cyber Crime Police account.", "independence_group": "india-today" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "finance", "everyday_life", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "How much of the Rs 9.84 crore came from the coin scheme versus other frauds through the same accounts is not stated.", "When the video began circulating is not stated.", "Whether the two men have been charged and the case number are not reported.", "The AI tools used are not identified." ], "geography": { "basis": "Complaint and investigation in Surat, Gujarat; arrests in Nuh, Haryana; complainants 'across the country' on the NCRP (India Today). No court proceeding reported yet.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "IN" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "IN" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an impersonation-fraud case with reported financial harm to identified complainants and a police investigation with arrests. One reputable news chain carrying the police account was read; all claims are recorded as reported. Complainants unnamed; the MP is a public figure named in the police complaint.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-18" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "Surat police say the accused used artificial intelligence to manipulate the MP's videos and photographs and replace the audio with a voice-over; no forensic detail is published. The artifact depicted and impersonated a public figure; victims dealt with the fraudsters through fake profiles and UPI payments.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Surat, India: a deepfake video of Rajya Sabha MP Govind Dholakia was used to run an 'old coin' buying fraud; two men arrested and nine cybercrime complaints linked to their accounts", "summary": "Surat Cyber Crime Police said a publicly available video of Rajya Sabha MP and diamond industrialist Govind Dholakia was manipulated with AI, its audio replaced by a voice-over in which he appeared to say that people holding old coins or currency notes could contact a number and receive lakhs or crores of rupees. The video circulated on Facebook and Instagram alongside fake 'Old Coin Company' profiles using his photos; people who responded were asked to pay Rs 1,000 to 1,500 by UPI as processing or registration fees and were told of a fabricated Reserve Bank of India warning to win their trust. After members of the public contacted Dholakia, his organisation SRK complained to police. Investigators traced the operation to Nuh in Haryana and arrested two men, aged 25 and 30, from Thathaula village; ten bank accounts were linked to them, and nine complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal from across India, totalling about Rs 9.84 crore, were connected to those accounts.", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "unknown", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-09-16", "aiSystem": "AI video manipulation with a replaced voice-over impersonating MP Govind Dholakia (tools not named)", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "financial_loss", "reputational_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "People who responded to an AI-manipulated video of an MP paid fees to fraudsters; police linked nine cybercrime complaints totalling about Rs 9.84 crore to the accused's bank accounts. The MP's identity and likeness were misused, prompting his organisation to complain.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 9, "affectedCountStatus": "documented_minimum", "affectedCountEvidence": "Police linked nine complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal to the accused's bank accounts (India Today). Each complaint is treated as one complainant; the reported Rs 9.84 crore total may include other frauds through the same accounts, and people who paid small fees without complaining are uncounted. Documented minimum of nine.", "victimAgeRange": "unknown", "jurisdiction": "IN", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "criminal_charges", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/other-cities/story/surat-mp-deepfake-scam-govindbhai-dholakia-old-coin-fraud-two-arrested-2996319-2026-09-16", "primarySourceLabel": "India Today, 16 Sep 2026: Deepfake of Surat MP used to promote fake coins, two arrested in Rs 9.8 crore fraud (Surat Cyber Crime Police account)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-18T03:25:12.535823+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "voice-over", "public-figure-impersonation", "fraud", "india", "gujarat", "surat", "haryana", "facebook", "instagram", "upi" ] }, { "id": "2026-northern-ireland-ai-celebrity-video-investment-scam", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'A person has lost £250,000 after falling victim to an AI-generated scam'; 'saw what appeared to be an AI-generated video featuring a well-known personality from the financial sector'; 'persuaded the victim in the Ards and north Down area to create multiple online accounts and gained remote access to their computer'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'a victim lost £250,000 in Ards and North Down'; 'encouraged to borrow money to continue investing'; 'further payments were required before money supposedly held in the investment could be released'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'the victim was encouraged to borrow money to continue investing. Funds were transferred to accounts controlled by the criminals'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "A person in the Ards and North Down area lost £250,000 to an investment fraud that began with an apparently AI-generated video of a well-known financial personality, progressed through WhatsApp contact, multiple new online accounts, remote access to the victim's computer and borrowing to invest, and ended with demands for further payments to release the funds.", "causal_attribution": "Single PSNI account relayed by three outlets; the AI-generated nature of the video is the police's description ('what appeared to be')." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "one person lost £250,000 (partly borrowed) to an investment fraud lured by an AI-generated celebrity video", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2zkp8vx9jo", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 and 2026-09-18 (BBC News NI, Ben Lonsdale, 7 Sep 2026). Reports the PSNI statement and adds that BBC News NI has seen online scams using Martin Lewis, Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett; the PSNI did not confirm the personality.", "independence_group": "psni-statement" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/psni-urging-public-to-be-vigilant-after-sophisticated-investment-fraud-victim-looses-250000-IZL253VWX5BOLJN7ZKZ56RUYDY/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-18 via the MSN content API copy (Irish News, 7 Sep 2026). Carries the full PSNI statement including the Inspector Youle and Superintendent Gibson quotations.", "independence_group": "psni-statement" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://www.farminglife.com/news/crime/warning-after-victim-loses-ps250000-in-ai-investment-scam-in-northern-ireland-8972844", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-18 via the MSN content API copy (Farming Life, 7 Sep 2026). Same PSNI statement.", "independence_group": "psni-statement" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "finance", "everyday_life" ], "unknowns": [ "The dates over which the fraud ran are not given.", "The impersonated personality and the AI tool are not identified.", "No arrest or recovery of funds is reported.", "The victim's age and circumstances are not described." ], "geography": { "basis": "The PSNI locates the victim in the Ards and North Down area of Northern Ireland (UK, recorded as GB). No court proceeding.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "GB" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "GB" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an impersonation-fraud case with a concrete, police-reported consequence: one identified-but-anonymous person lost £250,000 after an AI-generated celebrity video lure. Three outlets read, all relaying one PSNI statement; claim status reported.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-18" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The PSNI says the fraud began with 'what appeared to be an AI-generated video' of a financial personality; no technical confirmation is published. The relation recorded is that the AI artifact depicted and impersonated a public figure to reach the victim; the victim's own dealings were with human fraudsters on WhatsApp.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Ards and North Down, Northern Ireland: a person lost £250,000 to an investment fraud that began with an AI-generated video of a well-known financial personality", "summary": "On 7 September 2026 the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said a person in the Ards and North Down area had lost £250,000 in what it called a 'sophisticated and substantial' investment fraud. The victim first saw what appeared to be an AI-generated online video featuring a well-known personality from the financial sector promoting an investment with significant returns. After investing a small amount the victim was contacted on WhatsApp and encouraged to pay more, persuaded to open multiple online accounts, to allow the fraudsters remote access to a computer 'to assist with the investment', to borrow money to keep investing, and finally to make further payments to 'release' funds supposedly held in the investment. The PSNI did not name the personality; BBC News NI noted that fabricated endorsements of financial experts such as Martin Lewis, Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett circulate online.", "incidentKind": "ongoing_experience", "incidentDatePrecision": "unknown", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-09-07", "aiSystem": "AI-generated video impersonating a well-known financial personality (tool not identified; personality not named by police)", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "financial_loss" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "One person lost £250,000, including borrowed money, to an investment fraud that used an AI-generated video of a financial personality as its lure and progressed through WhatsApp grooming and remote computer access.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The PSNI describes a single victim who lost £250,000. Exact count of one.", "victimAgeRange": "unknown", "jurisdiction": "GB", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2zkp8vx9jo", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC News NI, 7 Sep 2026: Victim loses £250k after scammers use AI video of 'well-known' celebrity (PSNI statement)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-18T03:25:09.292712+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-generated-video", "celebrity-impersonation", "investment-fraud", "united-kingdom", "northern-ireland", "psni", "financial-loss" ] } ] }