{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-09-30T07:16:45.171Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"karnataka","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"","response":"regulatory","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":1,"languages":1,"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":"2026-bengaluru-hebbal-head-constable-ai-morphed-images-sextortion","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'he received a friend request from a Facebook account'; 'on Sept 16'; 'claimed that the person behind the account downloaded his old photographs from Facebook and used them to create morphed obscene images and videos showing him with women, using AI tools'; 'the accused then sent the morphed images and videos to him along with a QR code, demanding money and promising to delete the material if he paid'; 'threatened to send the morphed images and videos to senior police officials and upload them on social media if he failed to comply, warning that the move would damage his reputation'; 'The harassment continued till Sept 18'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to his complaint, after the head constable accepted a Facebook friend request on 16 September 2026, the account holder used AI tools to make morphed obscene images and videos of him from his old Facebook photographs, sent them to him with a QR code demanding money, and threatened to send them to senior police officials and post them on social media; the harassment continued until 18 September.","causal_attribution":"The complainant's account as reported by TOI; the AI attribution is his claim and is not examined in the report."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Hebbal police have registered a case under Sections 66E'; 'Police have taken measures to ensure that those images and videos are not uploaded on social media and are making efforts to nab the fraudster'; 'He also submitted copies of the messages and morphed photographs along with his complaint, a senior officer said'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Hebbal police registered a case under IT Act sections 66E and 67A and BNS sections 308 and 351, took measures to keep the images and videos from being uploaded, and are trying to trace the account holder; the complainant gave police copies of the messages and morphed photographs.","causal_attribution":"Police account as reported by TOI; the FIR was not read."}],"effects":[{"label":"sent AI-made obscene images and videos of himself with demands for money and threats to send them to his superiors and post them online","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/facebook-friend-request-turns-into-sextortion-trap-for-bengaluru-cop/articleshow/134522823.cms","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English on 2026-09-28 (Times of India, Bengaluru, byline H M Chaithanya Swamy, published 27 September 2026 21:29 IST, modified 28 September). Based on the complaint and a senior officer's statements. The420.in's derivative article returned 403 and was not read.","independence_group":"toi-bengaluru-hebbal-complaint"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","work","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether the complainant paid any money.","Whether any of the material was sent to others or published.","Which AI tools were used and whether police have verified that the images were AI-made.","Who operated the account and from where; no arrest is reported."],"geography":{"basis":"The complainant is a head constable at Hebbal police station in Bengaluru, was on duty in the Hebbal area when contacted and complained to Hebbal police (Times of India). The account holder's location is unknown. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: according to the complainant, AI tools were used to depict him in fabricated obscene images and videos that were then used for extortion, and police registered an extortion and IT Act case. Single reporting chain (the Times of India, from the complaint and a senior officer). The complainant is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-28"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complainant says the account holder used AI tools to make morphed obscene images and videos from his old Facebook photographs; he gave police copies of the images. The Times of India reports this as his claim. The tool is not named and no police or forensic finding on how the material was made is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Bengaluru: a Hebbal police head constable says a stranger who contacted him through a Facebook friend request used AI tools to turn his old Facebook photographs into obscene images and videos, then demanded money and threatened to send them to his superiors and post them online; police register an extortion and IT Act case (16-18 September 2026)","summary":"A head constable at Hebbal police station in Bengaluru complained that on 16 September 2026 he accepted a Facebook friend request from an unknown account and exchanged sexually explicit messages with it over Messenger. According to his complaint, reported by the Times of India, the person behind the account downloaded his old Facebook photographs and used AI tools to make morphed obscene images and videos showing him with women, sent them to him with a QR code, demanded money in return for deleting them and threatened to send them to senior police officers and post them on social media, warning that this would damage his reputation. The harassment continued until 18 September. He gave police copies of the messages and the morphed images. Hebbal police registered a case under IT Act sections 66E and 67A and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 308 (extortion) and 351 (criminal intimidation), took steps to stop the material being uploaded and are trying to trace the account holder. Whether he paid is not reported, and no arrest is reported.","incidentDate":"2026-09-16","incidentEndDate":"2026-09-18","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-09-27","aiSystem":"Unidentified AI tools the complainant says were used to make morphed obscene images and videos from his Facebook photographs (Times of India)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The complainant says fabricated obscene images and videos of him, made with AI tools from his Facebook photographs, were sent to him with extortion demands and threats to send them to his superiors and post them online over three days (his complaint as reported by the Times of India).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the head constable depicted in the morphed images and targeted by the extortion demands (Times of India). The women shown with him in the fabricated images are not counted: they are not identified and no harm to them is reported. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IN-KA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/facebook-friend-request-turns-into-sextortion-trap-for-bengaluru-cop/articleshow/134522823.cms","primarySourceLabel":"Times of India (Bengaluru), 27 September 2026: Facebook friend request turns into sextortion trap for Bengaluru cop","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-28T03:31:35.359469+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:27.418114+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","sextortion","non-consensual-imagery","extortion","facebook","messenger","police-officer-victim","india","karnataka","bengaluru","hebbal","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-bengaluru-byappanahalli-cm-vijay-deepfake-whatsapp-video-call-aid-fraud","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'a voice and face appearing on a WhatsApp video call allegedly convinced a 29-year-old security guard that he was speaking to Tamil Nadu chief minister and actor C Joseph Vijay'; 'a fraudster allegedly used a deepfake AI-generated video'; 'he received a WhatsApp video call from the number'; 'on Sept 9'; 'After introducing himself as CM Vijay in Hindi'; 'I was offered financial help from Vijay’s personal account'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'the familiar face speaking to him was allegedly an AI-generated deepfake'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"On 9 September 2026 a Bengaluru security guard received a WhatsApp video call in which a face and voice presented as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay introduced himself in Hindi and offered him financial aid; the Times of India reports that the fraudster allegedly used a deepfake AI-generated video.","causal_attribution":"Complainant's account and TOI's description; CNBC TV18 repeats it. No forensic or police finding on the video is reported."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The manager offered Rs 11 lakh in aid'; 'was asked to pay Rs 5,000 as exchange charges'; 'he needed to pay Rs 18,000 to release it'; 'claiming to be Thakur from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) contacted me and demanded over Rs 50,000 as a fine imposed by the agency'; 'I made a few more payments totalling over Rs 1.04 lakh through a digital payment app'; 'When the fraudsters demanded another Rs 50,000, I refused and realised I had been duped'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After the call, a 'manager' promised Rs 11 lakh and demanded exchange and PIN-unlock charges, and a man posing as a CBI officer demanded more than Rs 50,000 as a fine; the complainant paid more than Rs 1.04 lakh through a digital payment app before refusing a further Rs 50,000 demand.","causal_attribution":"The complainant's first-person account to TOI. The loss followed the video call; the later demands came from human callers posing as a manager and a CBI officer."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'before approaching Byappanahalli police. A case has been registered under the Information Technology Act'; 'This is the first such case reported in the city'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complainant called the 1930 cybercrime helpline and went to Byappanahalli police, who registered a case under the Information Technology Act; TOI calls it the first such case reported in the city.","causal_attribution":"As reported by TOI; the FIR itself was not read."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The available information, however, does not establish that the person arrested in Rajasthan was directly involved in the fraud reported by Giri in Bengaluru.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The available information does not establish that the man arrested in Alwar in the Tamil Nadu CB-CID deepfake investigation was involved in the Bengaluru fraud.","causal_attribution":"CNBC TV18's own statement; supports recording this as a separate case from 2026-tamil-nadu-cm-vijay-deepfake-financial-aid-fraud."}],"effects":[{"label":"lost more than Rs 1.04 lakh to staged fee and fake CBI-fine demands after a WhatsApp video call with an alleged deepfake of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister offering aid","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/cm-vijay-whatsapp-call/articleshow/134215533.cms","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English on 2026-09-28 (Times of India, Bengaluru, byline H M Chaithanya Swamy, published 13 September 2026 22:57 IST, modified 14 September). The complainant's account given to TOI and to police; a senior officer quoted.","independence_group":"toi-bengaluru-complainant"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.cnbctv18.com/india/cm-vijay-deepfake-scam-bengaluru-security-guard-rs-11-lakh-offer-19991710.htm","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English on 2026-09-28 (CNBC TV18, 16 September 2026). Retells the TOI account without new sourcing (same chain); gives the complainant's age as 39 where TOI says 29. Adds context on the Tamil Nadu CB-CID case and the statement that no link to the Alwar accused is established.","independence_group":"toi-bengaluru-complainant"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether the video was a live face-swap or pre-recorded clips, which tool was used, and whether police have examined it.","Who made the calls and from where; no arrest is reported.","Whether this fraud is connected to the Facebook deepfake videos investigated by the Tamil Nadu CB-CID.","The exact dates of the individual payments after 9 September.","The complainant's age (TOI says 29, CNBC TV18 says 39)."],"geography":{"basis":"The complainant lives and works in Bengaluru and reported to Byappanahalli police in Bengaluru (Times of India). Where the callers were located is not reported. No court proceeding is reported, so court_countries is empty.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: an alleged deepfake of a public figure communicated with the complainant in a WhatsApp video call, and he reports a loss of more than Rs 1.04 lakh with a police case registered. One reporting chain (TOI, retold by CNBC TV18); the AI attribution is reported, not forensically established. The complainant is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-28"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Times of India reports that the fraudster allegedly used a deepfake AI-generated video of the Chief Minister in the WhatsApp video call; the complainant describes a face and voice presenting as Vijay that spoke to him in Hindi and asked him questions. The AI attribution is the complainant's and the newspaper's; no police or forensic finding on the video, the tool used, or whether the call was live or pre-recorded is reported. The synthetic likeness depicted the Chief Minister, not the complainant, and was used to speak to and question the complainant in the video call; the relation is recorded as communicated_with.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Bengaluru: a security guard says a WhatsApp video call in which an alleged deepfake 'Chief Minister Vijay' offered him financial aid led to fake 'processing' charges and a fake CBI fine, and he lost more than Rs 1.04 lakh; Byappanahalli police register an IT Act case (September 2026)","summary":"A security guard in Bengaluru, originally from Odisha, told the Times of India that on 9 September 2026 he answered a WhatsApp video call in which a face and voice presented as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay introduced himself in Hindi, asked his name, work and where he lived and pressed him to accept financial help. A 'manager' then promised Rs 11 lakh, said Rs 5 lakh had been allotted to him and asked for a Rs 5,000 exchange charge, then Rs 18,000 to unlock a supposedly locked PIN; a caller posing as a CBI officer demanded more than Rs 50,000 as a fine. The fraudsters sent a fake allotment letter and a purported CBI officer's identity proof. He paid more than Rs 1.04 lakh through a digital payment app before refusing a further Rs 50,000 demand, called the 1930 cybercrime helpline and went to Byappanahalli police, who registered a case under the Information Technology Act. The Times of India says the fraudster allegedly used a deepfake AI-generated video and calls it the first such case reported in the city. No arrest is reported, and no link to the Tamil Nadu CB-CID deepfake case or its Alwar arrest has been established.","incidentDate":"2026-09-09","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-09-13","aiSystem":"An alleged deepfake AI-generated video likeness and voice of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay shown in a WhatsApp video call (Times of India); the tool and whether the call was live or pre-recorded are not reported","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The complainant says he lost more than Rs 1.04 lakh after a WhatsApp video call with an alleged deepfake of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister led to staged fee and fake CBI-fine demands (his account to the Times of India and his police complaint).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the Bengaluru complainant who says he paid more than Rs 1.04 lakh after the video call (Times of India). Chief Minister Vijay, whose likeness was allegedly faked, is not counted as a harmed person here. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IN-KA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/cm-vijay-whatsapp-call/articleshow/134215533.cms","primarySourceLabel":"Times of India (Bengaluru), 13 September 2026: 'CM Vijay' WhatsApp call promises Rs 11 lakh aid, Bengaluru man loses Rs 1 lakh","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-28T03:31:33.034103+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:26.844463+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","public-figure-impersonation","video-call","whatsapp","fraud","fake-cbi-officer","india","karnataka","bengaluru","tamil-nadu-cm-vijay"]}]}