{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-07T02:59:14.696Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"investment-fraud","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"regulatory","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":2,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"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":"2025-karnataka-police-say-ai-generated-trump-video-promoted-trump-hotel-rental-investment-app-lawyer-lost-savings","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'allegedly lured him into investing in a Trump Hotel rentals scheme using an AI-generated video of US President Donald Trump promising high returns, police said on Monday'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The police said cybercriminals used the AI-generated video of Donald Trump to dupe people in Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Mangaluru, and Haveri.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Police said the cybercriminals used an AI-generated video of Donald Trump to draw people into a fake 'Trump Hotel Rentals' investment scheme run through a mobile app.","causal_attribution":"Attributed to police by two outlets; the technical basis is not stated, and the police release PTI quotes does not mention AI."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'he came across a video on YouTube offering an investment opportunity in \"Donald Trump Hotel Rentals.\"'; 'When he clicked the link, he was directed to download a mobile application.'; 'he deposited Rs 5,93,240 to various bank accounts, UPI IDs, and digital wallets between January 25 and April 4.'; 'However, he stopped receiving returns and was unable to recover the invested amount.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'claimed he deposited Rs 5,93,240 between January 25 and April 4 this year'; 'In January this year, I came across shorts on YouTube that offered to invest in the Donald Trump Hotel.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A lawyer saw YouTube videos offering investment in 'Donald Trump Hotel Rentals' in January 2025, downloaded the app and deposited Rs 5,93,240 between 25 January and 4 April 2025, and could not recover it.","causal_attribution":"The lawyer's own account, given in his complaint as relayed by police to PTI and in his interview with the Indian Express: one witness, so reported; whether the clips he saw contained the AI-generated video rests on the police attribution."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A case has been registered under the IT Act and Section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.'; 'Rs 1.5 lakh in the bank account to which the money was transferred has been frozen, a senior police officer said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Police registered a case under the IT Act and the cheating provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and froze Rs 1.5 lakh in the receiving account.","causal_attribution":"Police statements reported by PTI."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'More than 200 investors from Karnataka have complained to cybercops that they were collectively defrauded of nearly Rs 2 crore'; 'A total of 15 cases have been registered in Haveri district.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'has been used to dupe more than 200 people in the last few months in several cities of Karnataka'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"More than 200 investors in Karnataka complained to cyber police of losing nearly Rs 2 crore through the app, with cases registered in several districts, 15 of them in Haveri.","causal_attribution":"Police figures relayed by both outlets; one underlying origin. Whether each complainant saw the AI-generated video is not established."}],"effects":[{"label":"lawyer lost Rs 5,93,240 deposited into the fake app after the video","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2025/05/26/mes19-ka-cyber-fraud.html","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"PTI copy republished by The Week; the live page returned 403, so a 2025 Internet Archive capture was read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21. No translation was needed.","independence_group":"pti-haveri-police"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/ai-generated-trump-video-dupe-people-karnataka-10029617/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The live page returned 403; a 2025 Internet Archive capture was read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21. Includes the Indian Express's own interview with the lawyer. No translation was needed.","independence_group":"indian-express-karnataka"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/trump-app-over-200-in-karnataka-fall-prey-to-investment-fraud-lose-rs-2-crore/articleshow/121428182.cms","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 (HTTP 200). Own reporting with a police inspector's quotes. No translation was needed.","independence_group":"times-of-india-bengaluru"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance"],"unknowns":["How the police established that the Trump video was AI-generated, and which tool made it.","How many of the more than 200 complainants saw the video before investing.","Whether anyone has been arrested or any money returned beyond the Rs 1.5 lakh frozen."],"geography":{"basis":"Police in Karnataka, India, registered the cases, including the lawyer's complaint, and the reports place the victims in Karnataka districts.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published because investigating police, as reported separately by PTI and the Indian Express, attributed the scheme's promotion to an AI-generated Trump video, and a lawyer's loss of Rs 5,93,240 after seeing such videos is reported from both his police complaint and his own interview. The police attribution's technical basis is undisclosed.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-21"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Investigating police, as reported separately by PTI and the Indian Express, said the scheme used an AI-generated video of Donald Trump to dupe people into the scheme; the lawyer says he saw such YouTube shorts and then installed the app and deposited his money (depicted_or_impersonated: the generated video impersonated Trump toward the people it deceived). The technical basis for the police attribution is not disclosed, and the police release quoted by PTI mentions only fake links. No generation tool is identified.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Karnataka police say an AI-generated Trump video promoted a fake 'Trump Hotel Rental' investment app; a lawyer lost about Rs 5.9 lakh","summary":"Police in Karnataka, India, said in May 2025 that cybercriminals used an AI-generated video of US President Donald Trump to draw people into a fake 'Trump Hotel Rentals' investment scheme run through a mobile app. A lawyer told police and the Indian Express that in January 2025 he saw short YouTube videos offering investment in Donald Trump hotels, downloaded the app, and deposited Rs 5,93,240 between 25 January and 4 April 2025 after small early payouts, then could not withdraw anything. Police registered a case under the IT Act and the cheating provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and froze Rs 1.5 lakh in a recipient account. Reports describe more than 200 complaints across Karnataka districts with losses near Rs 2 crore; how many of those people saw the video is not established. The technical basis for the police description of the video as AI-generated is not disclosed.","incidentDate":"2025-01-25","incidentEndDate":"2025-04-04","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-05-26","aiSystem":"Video of Donald Trump promoting 'Trump Hotel Rentals' that police described as AI-generated, used to draw people to a fraudulent investment app; no generation tool is identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to police and his own account, a lawyer lost Rs 5,93,240 after a YouTube video, which police described as AI-generated, promoting a fake Trump hotel investment app; police report more than 200 complaints statewide.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"One person counted: the lawyer, whose loss after seeing the video is reported by PTI (from police) and by the Indian Express (his own account). The Times of India reports more than 200 complainants and police claims of more than 800 investors, but the inspected sources do not establish how many of them saw the AI-generated video, so they are left unquantified. He did not use the AI tool, so he is counted under other people harmed.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2025/05/26/mes19-ka-cyber-fraud.html","primarySourceLabel":"PTI via The Week: Karnataka lawyer duped by cyber fraudsters using AI-generated Trump video (26 May 2025)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-21T03:05:31.782805+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-21T03:05:31.782805+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["india","karnataka","investment-fraud","trump-impersonation","ai-generated-video","task-scam","youtube"]},{"id":"2025-pont-a-mousson-ai-generated-macron-arnault-investment-ad-pensioner-savings-loss","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'initiés à partir de publications sur les réseaux sociaux utilisant des avatars de personnalités publiques générés par IA, comme Macron ou Arnault'; 'Des avatars de ces personnalités, générés par intelligence artificielle (IA), fleurissent sur les réseaux sociaux, et proposent des placements financiers juteux mais faux'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'L’affaire remonte à l’été 2025. Une publicité sur Internet promet des placements avantageux, mettant en scène le président de la République Emmanuel Macron et le milliardaire Bernard Arnault'; 'la publicité était en réalité un « deepfake », c’est-à-dire une fausse vidéo générée à l’aide de l’intelligence artificielle utilisant l’avatar de personnes existantes'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'la femme s’est fait duper par une publicité réalisée à l’aide de l’intelligence artificielle dans laquelle Emmanuel Macron et Bernard Arnault conseillent de réaliser des placements avantageux'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A retired woman in her eighties living in Pont-à-Mousson saw an online advertisement in which likenesses of Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Arnault, described as AI-generated avatars by the regional press reporting the Pont-à-Mousson police station's warning, promoted a lucrative investment platform; Le Parisien places this in summer 2025.","causal_attribution":"Account of the Pont-à-Mousson police station as relayed by L'Est Républicain and, via ICI and L'Est Républicain, by Le Parisien and Capital; one reporting chain. The AI description is the outlets' own wording in reporting that warning; no quoted police statement mentions AI."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Après avoir donné son nom et son numéro, un faux conseiller bancaire la contacte. Il lui explique alors ce qu’elle peut gagner. L’escroc demande qu’elle installe un logiciel sur son ordinateur.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'L’homme, très convaincant, lui propose de placer 5 000 euros pour commencer. Plusieurs semaines après, la promesse est tenue et l’octogénaire reçoit plusieurs centaines d’euros « d’intérêts »'; 'La retraitée accepte et verse à nouveau 5 000 euros'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"She gave her name and telephone number through the advertisement's form, was contacted by a fake financial adviser, was asked to install software on her computer, invested 5,000 euros, received several hundred euros presented as interest, and reinvested repeatedly.","causal_attribution":"Police-station account via the same reporting chain."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'une habitante de Pont-à-Mousson s’est fait escroquer 10 000 € après des placements frauduleux'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'10 000 euros. C’est la somme qu’a perdue une retraitée, résidant à Pont-à-Mousson en Meurthe-et-Moselle, après avoir subi une escroquerie pendant l’été 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Les escrocs lui ont ainsi dérobé 10 000 euros, en deux retraits successifs de 5 000 euros chacun'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"She lost at least 10,000 euros: L'Est Républicain and Capital report 10,000 euros, and Marie France (citing CNews) reports 10,000 euros taken in two withdrawals of 5,000 euros.","causal_attribution":"Police-station account via one reporting chain; the amount is not independently established."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Une retraitée a été arnaquée de 25 000 euros, à Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle)'; 'Entre juin et juillet 2025, l’octogénaire réitère l’opération plusieurs fois et finit par placer toutes ses économies, soit 25 000 euros'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'s’est fait escroquer 10 000 € après des placements frauduleux'","relation":"contradicts","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'elle décide alors d’investir toutes ses économies'","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Le Parisien, citing ICI and L'Est Républicain, reports a total loss of 25,000 euros, all her savings, placed in several instalments between June and July 2025.","causal_attribution":"Le Parisien's figure differs from the 10,000 euros of L'Est Républicain, Capital and Marie France; which figure the police gave, or whether the larger one includes later instalments, is not established."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'l’annonce publicitaire, ainsi que le site frauduleux, ont disparu'; 'Une enquête a été ouverte pour tenter d’identifier le ou les auteurs de cette arnaque'; '« Pour ce genre d’arnaque, nous enregistrons entre trois et cinq plaintes par semaine »'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Le commissariat de Pont-à-Mousson alerte : les escroqueries aux faux conseillers bancaires se multiplient'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The advertisement and the fraudulent site then disappeared; an investigation was opened, and the Pont-à-Mousson police station publicly warned that it records three to five complaints a week for this kind of fraud.","causal_attribution":"Statements of the Pont-à-Mousson police station to the regional press."}],"effects":[{"label":"lost her savings to a fraudulent investment platform promoted by an advertisement using AI-generated likenesses of Macron and Arnault","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.estrepublicain.fr/faits-divers-justice/2026/06/07/escroquee-par-un-faux-macron-genere-par-ia-elle-perd-10-000-dans-des-placements-frauduleux","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 (HTTP 200); no human translator or reviewer read the article. L'Est Républicain (Groupe EBRA) regional report of 7 June 2026 based on the Pont-à-Mousson police station's warning.","independence_group":"est-republicain-ici-pont-a-mousson-police"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/une-retraitee-perd-25-000-euros-apres-avoir-ete-piegee-par-une-fausse-publicite-demmanuel-macron-generee-par-ia-15-06-2026-EXVJWQKNJ5DTTKETUIJO4AABPQ.php","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 (HTTP 200); no human translator or reviewer read the article. Le Parisien, 15 June 2026, explicitly based on ICI (France Bleu) and L'Est Républicain; same reporting chain as s1.","independence_group":"est-republicain-ici-pont-a-mousson-police"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.capital.fr/economie-politique/une-retraitee-perd-10-000-euros-a-cause-d-une-fausse-publicite-generee-par-ia-comment-eviter-ce-piege-1527640","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 (HTTP 200); no human translator or reviewer read the article. Capital, 15 June 2026, explicitly based on L'Est Républicain and ICI; same reporting chain as s1.","independence_group":"est-republicain-ici-pont-a-mousson-police"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.mariefrance.fr/news-people/apres-brad-pitt-faux-emmanuel-macron-vole-milliers-euros-internaute-tombee-panneau-1277321.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 (HTTP 200); no human translator or reviewer read the article. Marie France, 10 June 2026, relaying a CNews article; the CNews item was not located. Same police-station account; kept as context for the relay and its differing description of the withdrawals.","independence_group":"est-republicain-ici-pont-a-mousson-police"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool produced the advertisement, whether it was a video or still images, and where it was served (the outlets say 'social networks' and 'Internet').","The total loss: 10,000 euros (L'Est Républicain, Capital, Marie France) or 25,000 euros (Le Parisien); whether the woman recovered any money.","Exact dates: Le Parisien places the payments between June and July 2025, while L'Est Républicain of 7 June 2026 says she was defrauded 'this week', which may refer to the complaint; recorded as June 2025 at month precision.","Whether anyone has been identified or charged; the state of the investigation after June 2026.","The CNews article relayed by Marie France was not located; the ICI (France Bleu) report cited by Le Parisien and Capital was not read."],"geography":{"basis":"The woman lives in Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle) and the complaint was handled by the Pont-à-Mousson police station, which described the case; the advertisement was seen online from there. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["FR"],"affected_person_countries":["FR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Single reporting chain (Pont-à-Mousson police station via L'Est Républicain, ICI, Le Parisien, Capital, CNews/Marie France) describing a concrete loss by one identifiable but unnamed pensioner after an advertisement that the regional press, reporting the police station's warning, describe as AI-generated likenesses of two public figures; the AI impersonation is the reported entry point to the fraud. Published as a reported account with the amount discrepancy preserved.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-07"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"L'Est Républicain, reporting the Pont-à-Mousson police station's warning, says the fraud was initiated from social-media publications using avatars of public figures generated by artificial intelligence, such as Macron or Arnault; Le Parisien, citing ICI and L'Est Républicain, describes the advertisement as a deepfake, a fake video generated with AI using the avatars of real people, showing Macron and Arnault praising an investment platform. The generated likenesses impersonated those two men toward the woman (depicted_or_impersonated) and are what led her to fill in the form through which the fraudsters obtained her contact details and money. No outlet examined the advertisement, no tool is named, and no forensic finding is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Pont-à-Mousson pensioner lost her savings to a fraudulent investment platform promoted by an ad reported as AI-generated likenesses of Macron and Arnault","summary":"A retired woman in her eighties living in Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle, France) responded, in summer 2025 according to Le Parisien and Capital, to an online advertisement in which AI-generated likenesses of Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Arnault promoted a lucrative investment platform. A supposed financial adviser then called her, she invested 5,000 euros, received several hundred euros of 'interest', and reinvested repeatedly until the advertisement and the site disappeared. L'Est Républicain (7 June 2026) and Capital put the loss at 10,000 euros; Le Parisien, citing ICI and L'Est Républicain, reports 25,000 euros, all her savings. The Pont-à-Mousson police station says an investigation was opened and that it receives three to five complaints a week for this kind of fraud. The account rests on the police station's warning as reported by the regional press, which describes the advertisement as AI-generated; the advertisement itself was not examined by the outlets and the quoted police statements do not mention AI.","incidentDate":"2025-06-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-06-07","aiSystem":"An online advertisement in which likenesses of Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Arnault, described by the regional press, reporting the Pont-à-Mousson police station's warning, as avatars generated with artificial intelligence (a 'deepfake' video, per Le Parisien), promoted a fraudulent investment platform; tool not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A pensioner in Pont-à-Mousson lost at least 10,000 euros (25,000 euros, all her savings, per Le Parisien) to a fraudulent investment platform promoted by an advertisement that the regional press, reporting the police, describe as AI-generated likenesses of Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Arnault.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the pensioner described by the Pont-à-Mousson police station (L'Est Républicain, Le Parisien, Capital). The second complainant in L'Est Républicain lost money to a different fake-adviser fraud without any AI element and is not counted. The 'three to five complaints a week' figure is a general police statement about the fraud type and is not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"elderly","jurisdiction":"FR","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.estrepublicain.fr/faits-divers-justice/2026/06/07/escroquee-par-un-faux-macron-genere-par-ia-elle-perd-10-000-dans-des-placements-frauduleux","primarySourceLabel":"L'Est Républicain, 7 June 2026: Escroquée par un faux Emmanuel Macron généré par IA, elle perd 10 000 € dans des placements frauduleux","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-07T03:30:06.294009+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T07:44:15.692384+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","fake-celebrity-advertisement","investment-fraud","fraud","elderly","france","pont-a-mousson","depicted-or-impersonated"]}]}