{ "meta": { "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T17:43:30.826Z", "formatVersion": 2, "selection": { "q": "united-kingdom", "system": "", "harm": "", "context": "", "country": "", "role": "", "relation": "core", "evidence": "", "year": "", "response": "", "severity": "", "verification": "", "view": "incidents", "sort": "added" }, "totalIncidents": 2, "coverage": { "cases": 2, "countries": 1, "languages": 1, "unknownLocation": 0, "locationPending": 0, "unknownLanguage": 0, "unknownDate": 1, "lawsuits": 0, "regulatory": 1, "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": "NOPE Incident Tracker", "url": "https://nope.net/incidents", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "incidents": [ { "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" ] }, { "id": "2025-tyler-deepfake-conviction-uk", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'used artificial intelligence (AI) to create deepfake pornography of women he knew has been jailed for five years'; '20 women were targeted in 173 online posts by Tyler, of Railway Street, between March 2023 and May 2024'; 'Another explicit edit was made on a photograph of a 16-year-old girl on her prom night'; 'posted his victims' names and social media handles online, as well as their phone numbers'; 'He admitted 18 counts of causing harassment without violence and 15 counts of sharing an intimate photo or film'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Between March 2023 and May 2024 Tyler used AI to make sexually explicit images of 20 women he knew from their social-media photos, including a 16-year-old's prom photo, and posted them 173 times with their names, handles and phone numbers on a forum glorifying rape culture; on 4 April 2025 he was jailed for five years after admitting 18 harassment counts and 15 counts of sharing intimate images.", "causal_attribution": "Court proceedings reported by the BBC; guilty pleas." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'One said she continued to receive \"anonymous sexual comments\" from people calling her phone, claiming it led to her long-term relationship ending. \"I have and still do feel completely violated by what Brandon did to me\"'; 'clearly intended to degrade and humiliate'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Victims described continuing anonymous sexual phone calls, the end of a long-term relationship, and feeling 'completely violated'; the judge said Tyler intended to degrade and humiliate them.", "causal_attribution": "Victim impact evidence and sentencing remarks reported by the BBC." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "20 women depicted in AI-made sexual images posted with their names and phone numbers on a rape-glorifying forum; harassment and humiliation described in court", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewgxd5yewjo", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-18 (BBC News Essex, Lewis Adams, from Chelmsford Crown Court, 4 April 2025). Court reporting with prosecutor, judge and victim quotations.", "independence_group": "bbc" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "relationships", "privacy", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "The AI tools and the forum are not named in the inspected reporting.", "Whether the 16-year-old's image was charged as an indecent image of a child is not stated (the charges reported are harassment and intimate-image sharing).", "Any appeal or licence conditions are not reported." ], "geography": { "basis": "Perpetrator from Braintree, Essex; victims were women he knew personally (BBC); sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court, England (UK, recorded as GB).", "court_countries": [ "GB" ], "event_countries": [ "GB" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "GB" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with identified (unnamed) depicted victims, a criminal conviction and victim-impact evidence. One court-reporting chain read; claims recorded as reported. Original ID and first-publication timestamp preserved.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-18" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The court heard, and the defendant admitted through his pleas, that he used AI to edit the women's images into sexual content; the BBC reports the prosecutor's account of AI removal of clothing. The tools depicted the affected women; they did not interact with them.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Braintree, Essex: a bar worker was jailed for five years for making AI deepfake pornography of 20 women he knew, including a 16-year-old's prom photo, and posting it with their names and phone numbers on a forum glorifying rape", "summary": "Between March 2023 and May 2024 Brandon Tyler, 26, a bar worker from Braintree, Essex, took images from the social-media pages of 20 women he knew, used AI to remove clothing or otherwise make them sexually explicit, and posted 173 times on an online forum that, in the prosecutor's words, championed 'rape culture and sexual violence to women', adding the women's names, social-media handles and phone numbers and, under one picture, asking 'which one deserves to be gang raped?'. One edit was made from a 16-year-old girl's prom-night photograph. He was caught after including his own Instagram handle in a screenshot. On 4 April 2025 at Chelmsford Crown Court, having admitted 18 counts of causing harassment without violence and 15 counts of sharing an intimate photo or film for sexual gratification, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment; Judge Alexander Mills called his conduct 'the worst kind of toxic masculinity'. Two victims told the court of the impact: one said she still received anonymous sexual calls and that her long-term relationship had ended; another said she felt 'completely violated'.", "incidentDate": "2023-03-01", "incidentEndDate": "2024-05-01", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2025-04-04", "aiSystem": "AI image-editing / 'undressing' tools (not named in the inspected court reporting)", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "exploitation_or_abuse", "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm", "relationship_disruption" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Twenty women, one of them 16 in the photograph used, were depicted in AI-made sexual images posted with their contact details on a forum glorifying sexual violence; victims described continuing harassment, humiliation and, in one case, the end of a relationship. The perpetrator was jailed for five years.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "established", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 20, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "The court heard that 20 women were targeted in 173 posts (BBC). Exact count of 20 from the prosecution's case; the 16-year-old is one of the 20.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "GB", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "criminal_charges", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cewgxd5yewjo", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC News Essex, 4 April 2025: man jailed for five years for AI deepfake pornography of 20 women he knew (Chelmsford Crown Court sentencing report)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-03-09T05:45:24.153671+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-undressing", "ncii", "doxxing", "united-kingdom", "essex", "criminal-conviction", "online-safety-act", "depicted" ] } ] }