{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-09-30T06:33:36.242Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"investment-scam","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":1,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":1,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":1},"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-bengaluru-reported-sadhguru-deepfake-investment-loss","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 61: paragraph about Sadhguru video.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The police account says the woman encountered an AI-generated deepfake of Sadhguru promoting a fake investment opportunity.","causal_attribution":"The articles relay the same complaint and police investigation. They are kept in one independence group. The AI link and loss remain reported and causation is alleged."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 68: paragraph about transfer total and withdrawals.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 69: paragraph about transfer total and withdrawals.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The reported complaint says she transferred about Rs 3.75 crore and realised she had been cheated when she attempted to withdraw the funds.","causal_attribution":"The articles relay the same complaint and police investigation. They are kept in one independence group. The AI link and loss remain reported and causation is alleged."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 62: paragraph about dated contact and transfers.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 68: paragraph about dated contact and transfers.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Indian Express dates the reported contact and transfers from 25 February to 23 April 2025.","causal_attribution":"The articles relay the same complaint and police investigation. They are kept in one independence group. The AI link and loss remain reported and causation is alleged."}],"effects":[{"label":"Reported substantial investment-scam loss","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/bengaluru-woman-defrauded-crore-sadhguru-jaggi-vasudev-deepfake-ai-police-10243694/","kind":"journalistic","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"original-account-aiid-1206"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/bengaluru/story/ktaka-bengaluru-woman-duped-of-rs-375-crore-by-ai-generated-sadhguru-deepfake-promoting-fake-trading-platform-2787513-2025-09-15","kind":"journalistic","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"original-account-aiid-1206"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance"],"unknowns":["The video-generation tool, perpetrators and amount eventually recovered are unknown.","The police and FIR accounts were inspected through journalism, without the original FIR or a technical examination of the video."],"geography":{"basis":"Both articles identify the woman as a Bengaluru resident and the complaint as filed there. No court country is inferred from an unrelated identity-rights proceeding.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Inspected reports describe a dated, concrete investment loss and a case-specific purported AI video. Both reports share the complainant and police chain. The affected woman is unnamed and the reported amount is not upgraded to a judicial finding.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The reported police complaint links this woman's investment contact to an AI-generated Sadhguru video. The actual video and forensic record were not inspected.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Bengaluru woman reportedly lost Rs 3.75 crore after a Sadhguru deepfake investment pitch","summary":"Bengaluru police said a retired woman lost about Rs 3.75 crore after encountering a purported AI-generated video of Sadhguru promoting investments. The Indian Express reports that the contact and transfers took place from 25 February to 23 April 2025. According to the reported FIR, the video led to a trading platform and subsequent contact with scammers, who showed apparent profits. The woman realised the problem when withdrawal attempts prompted further payment demands. Police were attempting to freeze accounts, while warning recovery would be difficult.","incidentDate":"2025-02-25","incidentEndDate":"2025-04-23","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-09-11","aiSystem":"Reported AI-generated video impersonating Sadhguru","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the woman's complaint and police reporting, she transferred about Rs 3.75 crore to the purported investment scheme and could not withdraw her funds.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One woman is identified as the complainant. Group members, relatives and the impersonated public figure are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/bengaluru-woman-defrauded-crore-sadhguru-jaggi-vasudev-deepfake-ai-police-10243694/","primarySourceLabel":"The Indian Express, 11 September 2025, Bengaluru police and FIR account","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:10:33.393538+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:57:40.222556+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-2025"]},{"id":"2025-gwinnett-couple-crypto-scam-ai-generated-ghost-site-800k","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'A retired Georgia couple is warning others after losing their entire life savings—nearly $800,000—in an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that began with a message on WhatsApp.'; 'attempted to withdraw more money—and couldn’t. He called 911.'; 'They are working with Gwinnett County police'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'said they lost $802,000 in a cryptocurrency scam this year.'; 'inside his northeast Gwinnett County home last week.'; 'He had just tried to withdraw money from his cryptocurrency account, but couldn’t.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A couple in Gwinnett County, Georgia, lost about $800,000 (the AJC says $802,000) in a cryptocurrency scam; the husband found out when he tried to withdraw money and could not.","causal_attribution":"Two separate interviews with the couple (FOX 5 and the AJC)."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Gwinnett County police explained that while the app he was using was real, the scammers had created an AI-generated \"ghost site\" that manipulated what he saw on the screen.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to FOX 5, Gwinnett County police explained that while the trading app was real, the scammers had created an AI-generated \"ghost site\" that manipulated what the husband saw on his screen.","causal_attribution":"Police explanation as relayed by FOX 5; no other inspected source mentions AI."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The 74-year-old’s head was spinning. He felt sick.'; 'It’s teary, embarrassing. I feel ashamed.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'say the ordeal left them angry, embarrassed, and financially devastated.'; 'The couple's children have launched a GoFundMe to help them meet day-to-day expenses.'; 'investigators say in many cases like this, the victims rarely recover their funds.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The husband, 74, described feeling sick and ashamed; the couple said they were financially devastated and their children started a fundraiser for day-to-day expenses; police said victims rarely recover such funds.","causal_attribution":"The couple's accounts to two outlets."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A retired Georgia couple is warning others after losing their entire life savings—nearly $800,000—in an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that began with a message on WhatsApp.'; 'encouraging him to invest in cryptocurrency using a mobile trading app.'; 'seeing modest returns, and even able to withdraw funds—building his trust.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to FOX 5, the couple are retired, the money was their entire life savings, and the scam began when a stranger contacted the husband on WhatsApp and encouraged him to invest through a mobile trading app, where he traded small amounts and could withdraw funds before investing more.","causal_attribution":"The couple's account to FOX 5 only."}],"effects":[{"label":"a couple lost about $800,000 in a cryptocurrency scam","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the husband describes feeling sick and ashamed; the couple's children started a fundraiser to help them meet day-to-day expenses","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-couple-loses-800k-sophisticated-cryptocurrency-scam","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full body read by curl on 2026-09-29 (published 12 June 2025). FOX 5 interviewed the couple and relays an explanation from Gwinnett County police.","independence_group":"fox5"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/06/gwinnett-couple-warn-others-after-losing-800k-in-cryptocurrency-scam/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read by curl on 2026-09-29 (published 12 June 2025). Only the headline, caption and first paragraphs are legible; the rest of the body is served scrambled (reversed, reordered words) and could not be read. The AJC interviewed the husband separately. r.jina.ai 403.","independence_group":"ajc"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance"],"unknowns":["How AI was used to generate the fake site.","Where the scammers were based.","Whether any funds were recovered or anyone charged.","When the scheme began."],"geography":{"basis":"Both outlets locate the couple in Gwinnett County, Georgia (the AJC: their northeast Gwinnett County home); where the scammers operated is unknown.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a concrete fraud case in which police are reported to have identified an AI-generated fake site; the loss is independently reported by two outlets, the AI element by one.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"FOX 5 relays Gwinnett County police saying the scammers created an AI-generated \"ghost site\"; no other inspected source mentions AI and the tool is not described.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Gwinnett County, Georgia: a retired couple lost about $800,000 in a WhatsApp-initiated crypto scam that police said used an AI-generated \"ghost site\" to fake their balances (2025)","summary":"A retired couple in Gwinnett County, Georgia, told FOX 5 Atlanta and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June 2025 that they had lost about $800,000 ($802,000 per the AJC), their life savings, in a cryptocurrency scam that began when a stranger contacted the husband on WhatsApp and encouraged him to trade through a mobile app. He traded and withdrew small amounts before investing more, and discovered the fraud when he could not withdraw and called 911. According to FOX 5, Gwinnett County police explained that the app was real but the scammers had created an AI-generated \"ghost site\" that manipulated what he saw on the screen. The 74-year-old said he felt sick and ashamed; the couple's children started a fundraiser for day-to-day expenses, and police said such funds are rarely recovered.","incidentDate":"2025-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-06-12","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI tool used by scammers to generate a fake (\"ghost\") site showing false account balances, per police as relayed by FOX 5","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A retired couple lost about $800,000, their life savings, to a crypto investment scam (their accounts to FOX 5 and the AJC); police told FOX 5 the scammers used an AI-generated fake site to show false balances. The husband describes shame and distress.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The husband and wife, who lost their joint savings (2 other people: they were deceived by the scammers' AI-made site rather than using an AI system themselves).","victimAgeRange":"elderly","jurisdiction":"US-GA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-couple-loses-800k-sophisticated-cryptocurrency-scam","primarySourceLabel":"FOX 5 Atlanta, 12 June 2025: Georgia couple loses $800K in sophisticated cryptocurrency scam","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T09:10:55.774776+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:04.010995+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["investment-scam","cryptocurrency","whatsapp","ai-generated-site","elderly","georgia","gwinnett"]}]}