{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-30T08:26:32.501Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"payout","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"unknown","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":1,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":2,"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":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2024-utah-home-warranty-ai-chatbot-agreed-3000-air-conditioner-payout-firm-refused-then-paid-after-tv-inquiry","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"contacted his warranty provider, Choice Home Warranty, again through its online chat portal and asked them to replace the unit. ... He declined the company's initial offer, which would have cost him $1,800, and he made a counteroffer. ... Can I just get the maximum payout of $3,000.00 and I will order and get it installed myself.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The homeowner contacted Choice Home Warranty through its online chat portal to ask for a replacement air conditioner, declined an initial offer that would have cost him $1,800, and asked for the maximum $3,000 payout.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's account as reported by KSL."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"The warranty company agreed to his offer, writing, \"We will proceed with the payout option of $3,000.00 as per your request.\" ... said he was assured several times thereafter that the \"payout has been initiated,\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The chat replied that the company would proceed with the $3,000 payout, and the homeowner says he was told several times afterwards that the payout had been initiated.","causal_attribution":"Chat text and the homeowner's account as reported by KSL."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"He said, 'We've had this AI up for about a week and it's really confusing and it's miscommunicating to people.' ... It was a bot, programmed to represent the company — artificial intelligence that was apparently on the fritz.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"By the homeowner's account, when he called about the missing payment a company representative said the firm had had 'this AI' up for about a week and that it was confusing and miscommunicating to people; KSL reports that the chat partner was an AI bot programmed to represent the company.","causal_attribution":"The representative's statement is relayed by the homeowner; KSL's description of the bot is the outlet's narrative, hedged as apparently malfunctioning."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"He told the company he expects them to honor what was promised. He said they refused.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The homeowner says he asked the company to honour the promised payout and it refused.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's account."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The chatbot did it' is not going to be an excuse when it comes to deceptive acts and practices in the State of Utah ... In the end, the division won't be investigating his experience with an AI chatbot.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The director of the Utah Division of Consumer Protection told KSL that 'the chatbot did it' is not an excuse for deceptive practices in Utah; the division did not investigate this case.","causal_attribution":"Regulator's statement to KSL; general, not a finding about this company."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"the company told him that they would honor their chatbot's offer after all. ... He has since received his check. There is still no comment from the warranty company for this story.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After KSL contacted the company, the homeowner said it agreed to honour the chatbot's offer, and he received the check; the company did not comment to KSL.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's account as reported by KSL; no company statement."}],"effects":[{"label":"$3,000 payout agreed in the AI chat refused by the company (homeowner's account)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"company paid the agreed amount after a TV consumer reporter contacted it (homeowner's account)","claim_id":"c6","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.ksl.com/article/51137100/what-is-a-companys-obligation-when-ai-chatbot-makes-a-promise-that-cant-be-kept","kind":"news_article","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-30 (HTTP 200); article dated 29 Sep 2024 15:09 MDT (page metadata and byline line). The accompanying video was not viewed. The AOL/Moneywise relay found by search returned 404 and was not read.","independence_group":"ksl-investigates-warranty-chatbot"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["The dates of the chat, the refusal and the payment, which the report does not give beyond preceding 29 September 2024.","Which AI system ran the company's chat and why it agreed the payout.","Whether the company's account of the episode differs; it did not comment."],"geography":{"basis":"KSL reports from Draper, Utah, on a warranty claim for the homeowner's air conditioner, which a technician sent by the company had repaired, and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection commented on the case. The company is described as New Jersey-based.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a reported consumer case: a company's AI chat agreed a $3,000 warranty payout to a described customer, the company refused it citing its AI miscommunicating, and paid only after a television consumer reporter intervened. The account rests on one outlet's report of the customer's statements and screenshots; the company did not comment.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"KSL reports that the homeowner negotiated in the company's online chat, declining an $1,800 offer and asking for $3,000, and that the chat replied 'We will proceed with the payout option of $3,000.00 as per your request'; the company then refused the payout. By the homeowner's account a company representative attributed this to 'this AI', up for about a week and miscommunicating to people, and KSL describes the chat partner as an AI bot that was apparently malfunctioning. The company did not comment and no technical detail of the system is published.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Utah homeowner says home warranty firm's AI chatbot agreed a $3,000 air-conditioner payout, the firm refused it, then paid after a TV inquiry","summary":"KSL TV reported on 29 September 2024 that a homeowner in Draper, Utah, asked Choice Home Warranty through its online chat to replace a failing air conditioner. He declined an offer that would have cost him $1,800, asked for the maximum $3,000 payout, and the chat replied that the company would proceed with the $3,000 payout. When the money did not arrive he called, and a company representative told him, by his account, that the firm had had 'this AI' up for about a week and it was miscommunicating to people; the firm refused to pay. After KSL contacted the company, the homeowner said it agreed to honour the offer, and he received the check. The company did not comment to KSL.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2024-09-29","aiSystem":"The online chat on Choice Home Warranty's customer portal, which KSL describes as an AI bot programmed to represent the company and which a company representative, as relayed by the homeowner, called 'this AI'","aiProduct":"Choice Home Warranty chatbot","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The homeowner says the warranty company refused to pay a $3,000 payout its AI chat had agreed, leaving him without the money for a failing air conditioner until a television consumer reporter intervened, after which the company paid (KSL report; the company did not comment).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the homeowner who used the chat and was refused the payout. The other customers the representative said the AI was miscommunicating with are not described and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.ksl.com/article/51137100/what-is-a-companys-obligation-when-ai-chatbot-makes-a-promise-that-cant-be-kept","primarySourceLabel":"KSL.com (KSL Investigates), 29 Sep 2024: What is a company's obligation when AI chatbot makes a promise that can't be kept?","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-30T03:13:59.589935+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-30T03:13:59.589935+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["customer-service-ai","chatbot-promise","home-warranty","consumer-protection","payout"]},{"id":"2025-rhein-pfalz-district-police-say-older-man-sent-about-27000-euros-after-talk-show-video-presumably-generated-by-ai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'hatte im Internet ein Video einer ZDF-Talkshow gesehen, indem große Börsengewinne über eine Kryptowährung versprochen wurde. Dieses Video wurde vermutlich über eine Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) generiert.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Ludwigshafen police say the man had seen a video online of a ZDF talk show in which large stock-market gains through a cryptocurrency were promised, and that the video was presumably generated by AI.","causal_attribution":"Presumptive attribution by the police; the technical basis and the people shown are not disclosed."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Hierauf kontaktierte der Mann telefonisch einen angeblichen, persönlichen Finanzberater. Über einen Zeitraum von sechs Monaten überwies' ... 'dann ca. 27.000 Euro auf ausländische Konten.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The police say he then phoned a supposed personal financial adviser and over six months transferred about 27,000 euros to foreign accounts.","causal_attribution":"The police's account of the payments; the amount is approximate."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Verdacht schöpfte er, als er die Auszahlung der Kursgewinne einforderte und dies trotz mehrmaligem Nachfragen nicht erfolgte. Stattdessen wurde weitere Gebühren von dem Mann gefordert.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The police say he became suspicious when the gains were not paid out despite repeated requests and further fees were demanded instead.","causal_attribution":"Reported by the police."}],"effects":[{"label":"man transferred about 27,000 euros over six months after a fake talk-show video","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/117688/6005170","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"de","translation_note":"Read in German by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-20 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Ludwigshafen police directorate press release on presseportal.de, 3 April 2025; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"ludwigshafen-police-3-apr-2025"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance"],"unknowns":["When he saw the video and when the six months of transfers began and ended.","Who appeared in the video, which tool made it and how the police reached the view that it was presumably AI-generated.","The platform used and whether any money was recovered."],"geography":{"basis":"The police describe the man as from the Rhein-Pfalz district, Germany, so the affected person's country is Germany. The release does not say where he saw the video or made the transfers, which went to foreign accounts, so no event country is recorded. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["DE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Ludwigshafen police say an older man was drawn by a ZDF talk-show video promising crypto gains, which they say was presumably generated by AI, into transferring about 27,000 euros over six months. The technical basis and the people shown are undisclosed. The event dates are unknown; the id year is that of the April 2025 release.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-20"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Ludwigshafen police say the video of a ZDF talk show promising crypto gains that the man saw online was presumably generated by AI, and that after seeing it he phoned a supposed financial adviser and transferred about 27,000 euros over six months. The generated impersonation of a broadcaster's talk show is what drew him to the fraudsters, according to the police. Their wording is presumptive, and they do not disclose how they reached it, which tool was used or who appeared in the video.","status":"suspected"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Rhein-Pfalz district police say an older man sent about 27,000 euros after a talk-show video, presumably generated by AI, promised crypto gains","summary":"The Ludwigshafen police directorate reported on 3 April 2025 that an older man from the Rhein-Pfalz district had seen a video online of a talk show on the German broadcaster ZDF in which large stock-market gains through a cryptocurrency were promised. The police say the video was presumably generated by AI. He then phoned a supposed personal financial adviser and over six months transferred about 27,000 euros to foreign accounts. He became suspicious when the promised gains were not paid out despite repeated requests and further fees were demanded instead. The police do not say who appeared in the video or how they reached their view.","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-04-03","aiSystem":"A video of a supposed ZDF talk show promising cryptocurrency gains that the Ludwigshafen police say was presumably generated by AI (tool and people shown not identified)","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool (suspected)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Ludwigshafen police, an older man who saw a talk-show video promising crypto gains, which they say was presumably generated by AI, contacted a supposed adviser and transferred about 27,000 euros to foreign accounts over six months without receiving any payout.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One man (police release). The people shown in the video are not identified and no response from them or the broadcaster is reported, so none is counted.","victimAgeRange":"elderly","jurisdiction":"DE","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/117688/6005170","primarySourceLabel":"Polizeidirektion Ludwigshafen (presseportal), 3 April 2025: Anlagebetrug - hoher Schaden","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-20T03:14:31.57525+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-20T03:14:31.57525+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["investment_fraud","fake_talk_show_video","crypto","germany"]},{"id":"2026-lippe-district-police-say-man-lost-savings-and-took-loan-after-adverts-with-ai-generated-deepfake-videos-of-supposed-tv-shows","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Kürzlich wurde erneut ein Lipper Opfer eines betrügerischen Online-Tradings über eine vermeintliche Anlageplattform, bei dem ein fünfstelliger Schaden entstanden ist.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Lippe police say a man from the district recently became a victim of fraudulent online trading through a supposed investment platform, with a five-figure loss.","causal_attribution":"The police's account of the fraud and the loss."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Die Betrüger nutzten Werbeanzeigen mit KI-generierten Deepfake-Videos aus angeblichen Fernsehsendungen, forderten nach der Anmeldung wiederholt Gebühren und lenkten das Opfer schließlich zu Überweisungen auf Kryptobörsen.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The police say the fraudsters used adverts with AI-generated deepfake videos from supposed television programmes, repeatedly demanded fees after he registered and steered him to transfers to crypto exchanges.","causal_attribution":"Attribution by the police; the technical basis and the people depicted are not disclosed."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Der Mann ließ sich von den Tätern dazu überreden, zusätzlich einen Kredit aufzunehmen, um weitere Einzahlungen leisten zu können.' ... 'Auszahlungen gab es nie, stattdessen verlor der Mann sein Erspartes und geriet durch den Kredit in finanzielle Schwierigkeiten.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The police say he was talked into taking out a loan for further deposits, never received a payout, lost his savings and got into financial difficulty because of the loan.","causal_attribution":"Consequences as reported by the police."}],"effects":[{"label":"man lost his savings and got into debt after investment adverts with deepfake videos","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/12727/6220819","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"de","translation_note":"Read in German by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-20 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Lippe police press release on presseportal.de, 20 February 2026; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"lippe-police-20-feb-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance"],"unknowns":["When he saw the adverts and made the payments; the police say only that it happened recently.","Which programmes and people the deepfake videos showed, which tool made them and how the police established this.","The exact amount lost, the size of the loan, the platform and whether any money was recovered."],"geography":{"basis":"The police call the man a Lipper, a person from the Lippe district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, so the affected person's country is Germany. The release does not say where he saw the adverts or made the transfers, which went to crypto exchanges, so no event country is recorded. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["DE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Lippe police say a man was drawn to a fraudulent trading platform by adverts with AI-generated deepfake videos of supposed TV programmes, lost his savings and fell into debt through a loan he was persuaded to take. The technical basis and the people depicted are undisclosed. The event date is unknown; the id year is that of the February 2026 release, which calls the case recent.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-20"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Lippe police say the fraudsters used adverts with AI-generated deepfake videos from supposed television programmes and then, after the man registered, demanded fees and steered him to transfers, so, on the police account, videos presented as television programmes were generated with AI for the adverts that preceded his registration and payments. The police do not disclose which programmes or people the videos showed, which tool made them or how they established that they were AI-generated.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Lippe district police say a man lost his savings and took out a loan after investment adverts with AI-generated deepfake videos of supposed TV shows","summary":"The Lippe police reported on 20 February 2026 that a man from the district had recently been defrauded through a supposed online trading platform, with a five-figure loss. According to the police, the fraudsters used adverts with AI-generated deepfake videos from supposed television programmes, repeatedly demanded fees after he registered and steered him to transfers to crypto exchanges. He was talked into taking out a loan to make further deposits, never received a payout, lost his savings and got into financial difficulty because of the loan. The police do not say whom the videos showed or how they established that they were AI-generated.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-02-20","aiSystem":"Investment adverts with what the Lippe police call AI-generated deepfake videos from supposed television programmes (tool and depicted people not identified)","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Lippe police, a man drawn in by investment adverts that used AI-generated deepfake videos of supposed TV programmes lost a five-figure sum and his savings, and got into financial difficulty after being persuaded to take out a loan for further deposits.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One man (police release). The people shown in the videos are not identified and no response from them is reported, so none is counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"DE","platformType":"other","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/12727/6220819","primarySourceLabel":"Polizei Lippe (presseportal), 20 February 2026: Kreis Lippe. Warnung vor Anlagebetrug","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-20T03:12:41.005298+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-20T03:12:41.005298+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["investment_fraud","deepfake_video","online_trading","crypto","germany"]}]}