{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-22T10:17:33.210Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"video-call-fraud","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":2,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":1,"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":"2023-fuzhou-china-police-say-company-head-sent-4-3-million-yuan-after-ai-face-swapped-wechat-video-call-from-friend","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'4月20日11时40分左右，福州市某科技公司法人代表' and '于11时49分先后分两笔把430万元给对方打了过去。' and '对方通过智能AI换脸技术，佯装成好友对他实施了诈骗。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Baotou police said that on 20 April 2023 the legal representative of a Fuzhou technology company was contacted by WeChat video by someone posing as a friend and transferred 4.3 million yuan in two payments; when he phoned the real friend he learned the friend had made no such request, and the police said the fraudster had used AI face-swapping to impersonate the friend.","causal_attribution":"Police attribution of the deception to AI face-swapping."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'仅用时10分钟，就将该诈骗账户内的336.84万元被骗资金成功拦截' and '向福州市公安局警方提供了剩余款项93.16万元资金流出信息' and '目前，福建警方与包头警方对此资金正在全力追缴当中。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Baotou police, asked by Fuzhou police, worked with the bank to intercept 3.3684 million yuan within about ten minutes and passed information on the remaining 931,600 yuan to Fuzhou police; both forces were pursuing it.","causal_attribution":"Police account of the recovery."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'骗子并没有使用一个仿真的好友微信添加' and '而是直接用好友微信发起视频聊天' and '骗子极有可能通过技术手段盗用了'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Shanghai Observer reported that the fraudster called from the friend's own WeChat account, which it said was very likely stolen by technical means, rather than from a lookalike account.","causal_attribution":"The outlet's inference about the account; it adds a second mechanism (account takeover) alongside the face swap."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'基于对好友的信任，加上已经视频聊天核实了身份'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The company head transferred the money because of trust in the friend and because the video chat had appeared to verify the caller's identity.","causal_attribution":"Links the video call to the decision to pay."}],"effects":[{"label":"company head deceived by an AI face-swapped video call into transferring 4.3 million yuan, according to police","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.secrss.com/articles/54863","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Republication of the Baotou police WeChat account post (stated as from Ping An Baotou). Translated from Chinese by the research agent (an AI); no human translation.","independence_group":"baotou-police-statement-may-2023"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.jfdaily.com/wx/detail.do?id=615158","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Shanghai Observer report, 22 May 2023, relaying the police statement with added reporting. Translated from Chinese by the research agent (an AI); no human translation.","independence_group":"shanghai-observer-report-may-2023"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","work","relationships"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used and how police established the face swap.","Whether the remaining 931,600 yuan was recovered.","Whether anyone was arrested or charged.","How the friend's WeChat account came to be used."],"geography":{"basis":"Event: the victim was the legal representative of a technology company in Fuzhou, Fujian, and the case was handled by Fuzhou and Baotou police (police statement). No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["CN"],"affected_person_countries":["CN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with, depicted_or_impersonated): Baotou police say a Fuzhou company head transferred 4.3 million yuan after a WeChat video call in which the fraudster used AI face-swapping to impersonate a friend. The technical basis is not disclosed. The victim is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-22"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Baotou police, who handled the interception of the funds with Fuzhou police, said the fraudster used AI face-swapping to pose as the victim's friend on the WeChat video call that led to the 4.3 million yuan transfer (police WeChat post relayed by Secrss). The faked friend spoke to the victim and asked for the money (communicated_with, depicted_or_impersonated). The police do not disclose how the face swap was established or which tool was used, and the Shanghai Observer reports the friend's real account was probably hijacked as well.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with","depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Fuzhou, China: police say a company head sent 4.3 million yuan after a WeChat video call in which AI face-swapping imitated a friend","summary":"Police in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, said in a statement published in May 2023 that on 20 April 2023 the legal representative of a technology company in Fuzhou, Fujian, received a WeChat video call from someone who appeared to be a friend and asked to route a 4.3 million yuan tender deposit through the company's account; trusting the video call, he transferred 4.3 million yuan in two payments. The police said the fraudster had used AI face-swapping to pose as the friend. At Fuzhou police's request, Baotou police and a local bank stopped 3.3684 million yuan within about ten minutes; 931,600 yuan had been moved on and was being pursued.","incidentDate":"2023-04-20","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2023-05-08","aiSystem":"AI face-swapping used in a WeChat video call to impersonate the victim's friend, according to Baotou police (tool not identified)","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to Baotou police, a Fuzhou company head transferred 4.3 million yuan after a WeChat video call with an AI face-swapped imitation of a friend; 3.3684 million yuan was intercepted and 931,600 yuan was still being pursued.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the company head deceived into the transfers (police statement). The loss was on a company account; the impersonated friend is not counted because no harm to the friend is reported.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"CN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.secrss.com/articles/54863","primarySourceLabel":"Secrss (relaying the Baotou police WeChat account Ping An Baotou), 20 May 2023: AI face-swap fraud took 4.3 million yuan in 10 minutes","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-22T03:25:21.91516+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T03:25:21.91516+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-face-swap","video-call-fraud","impersonation","wechat","china","police-statement","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2023-anqing-anhui-police-say-nine-second-ai-face-swap-video-call-posing-as-acquaintance-cost-man-2-45-million-yuan","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'经开公安分局反诈中心民警调查发现，诈骗分子使用了一段9秒钟的智能AI换脸视频佯装“熟人”，让受害人放松警惕从而实施诈骗。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'诈骗分子使用一段9秒钟的智能AI换脸视频佯装“熟人”，让受害人放松警惕被骗走245万元。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Officers of the Anqing economic development zone police anti-fraud centre found that the fraudsters used a nine-second AI face-swap video to pose as an acquaintance and lower the victim's guard.","causal_attribution":"Police finding attributing the deception to an AI face-swap video."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'目前有一个项目招标需要周转资金' and '“因为打了视频电话又是熟人”，“我就没多想，就转账了”' and '立刻让家人将245万元到对方指定的账号上，直到事后拨打对方电话才得知被骗。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After the brief video call, the 'acquaintance' asked on QQ for money to be advanced for a project tender, and, trusting the video call, the victim had family members transfer 2.45 million yuan, learning of the fraud only when he later phoned the acquaintance.","causal_attribution":"The victim's account of why he paid, as reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'于4月28日下午一举抓获' and '等3名犯罪嫌疑人，扣押涉案手机26部，冻结、追回电诈资金一百余万元。' and '5月22日，民警将先行追回的132万元被骗款返还给' and '目前，该案件正在进一步侦办中。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Police arrested three suspects on 28 April 2023, seized 26 phones, froze or recovered more than one million yuan, and on 22 May returned 1.32 million yuan to the victim; the case was still being investigated.","causal_attribution":"Police account of arrests and recovery."}],"effects":[{"label":"man transferred 2.45 million yuan after an AI face-swap video call posing as an acquaintance, according to police","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.secrss.com/articles/55024","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Republication of a Dawan News report (stated as from Dawan News), dated 25 May 2023. Translated from Chinese by the research agent (an AI); no human translation.","independence_group":"anqing-police-findings-dawan-news-may-2023"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://news.cnr.cn/native/gd/20230613/t20230613_526286531.shtml","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200; page encoded GBK). China National Radio summary, 13 June 2023, of the same case. Translated from Chinese by the research agent (an AI); no human translation.","independence_group":"anqing-police-findings-dawan-news-may-2023"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","relationships"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used and how police established the face swap.","Whether the remaining money was recovered.","Whether the three suspects, who were suspected of moving proceeds, or anyone who made the video was charged or convicted.","How the acquaintance's WeChat identity was used."],"geography":{"basis":"Event: the case occurred in the Anqing economic development zone, Anhui, and was handled by its police sub-bureau (Dawan News; CNR). No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["CN"],"affected_person_countries":["CN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with, depicted_or_impersonated): the investigating Anqing police anti-fraud centre found that a nine-second AI face-swap video posing as an acquaintance led a man to transfer 2.45 million yuan. The technical basis is not disclosed. The victim is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-22"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The anti-fraud centre of the Anqing economic development zone police, which investigated the case and arrested three suspects, found that the fraudsters used a nine-second AI face-swap video to pose as the victim's acquaintance on the WeChat video call that preceded the payment (Dawan News via Secrss; CNR). The faked acquaintance appeared to the victim, and the same account then asked for money (depicted_or_impersonated, communicated_with). The police do not disclose how the face swap was established or which tool was used.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with","depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Anqing, China: police say a nine-second AI face-swap video call posing as an acquaintance led a man to transfer 2.45 million yuan","summary":"In April 2023 a man in the Anqing economic development zone, Anhui, received a brief WeChat video call from someone who appeared to be an acquaintance, followed by a QQ message asking him to advance money for a tender; trusting the video call, he had family members transfer 2.45 million yuan. The local police anti-fraud centre found that the fraudsters had used a nine-second AI face-swap video to pose as the acquaintance, Dawan News reported. Police arrested three suspects on 28 April, froze or recovered more than one million yuan, and on 22 May returned 1.32 million yuan to the victim.","incidentDate":"2023-04-27","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2023-05-25","aiSystem":"A nine-second AI face-swap video used in a WeChat video call to impersonate an acquaintance, according to police (tool not identified)","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the police findings reported by Dawan News, a man transferred 2.45 million yuan after a nine-second AI face-swap video call posing as an acquaintance; 1.32 million yuan was later returned to him.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the man who had 2.45 million yuan transferred after the call (Dawan News via Secrss). The impersonated acquaintance and the family members who made the transfer are not counted; no separate harm to them is reported.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"CN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.secrss.com/articles/55024","primarySourceLabel":"Secrss (republishing Dawan News), 25 May 2023: Another AI face-swap fraud as Anhui man loses 2.45 million yuan in 9 seconds","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-22T03:25:18.240597+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T03:25:18.240597+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-face-swap","video-call-fraud","impersonation","wechat","china","police-arrests","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-primorye-police-say-fraudsters-used-deepfake-of-regional-governor-in-video-call-to-draw-pensioner-into-month-long-scam","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"В Приморском крае полиция пресекла онлайн-аферу с использованием мошенниками технологии дипфейк; Перейдя по ней, заявитель увидел на экране собеседника, который был похож на губернатора региона.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"злоумышленники, используя дипфейк, организовали видеозвонок \"губернатором\" региона.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Primorsky Krai police press service said that fraudsters used deepfake technology in an online fraud in which a 77-year-old resident saw, in a video conference, a person resembling the region's governor who told him of a cyberattack and stolen funds routed through his account.","causal_attribution":"The police release attributes the deepfake; its technical basis is not stated. Vesti.ru attributes the same description to the pensioner's words, so both rest on one police account."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"На протяжении месяца зарубежные аферисты ежедневно звонили приморцу.; Пожилой человек снял один миллион рублей, но заподозрил неладное и обратился за помощью в полицию.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Accomplices posing as law-enforcement officials called him daily for a month, urging him to hand over all his savings, and he withdrew one million roubles before becoming suspicious and going to the police.","causal_attribution":"Police account of the complaint."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"заявитель вручил прибывшему курьеру муляж денежных средств.; Ею оказалась 79-летняя жительница Санкт-Петербурга; возбуждено уголовное дело по признакам преступления, предусмотренного ч. 3 ст. 30, ч. 4 ст. 159 Уголовного кодекса Российской Федерации.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Under police supervision he handed a courier a dummy package; police detained the courier, a 79-year-old woman from St Petersburg, opened a criminal case for attempted large-scale fraud, and she was remanded in custody.","causal_attribution":"Police account."}],"effects":[{"label":"pensioner deceived by a deepfake governor video call and pressed for a month to hand over savings (police account; no money lost)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://mvdmedia.ru/news/operativnye-novosti/v-primorskom-krae-politsiya-presekla-onlayn-aferu-s-ispolzovaniem-moshennikami-tekhnologii-dipfeyk/","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"ru","translation_note":"Read in Russian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200); quotations are Russian originals, and English renderings in the record are the research agent's translations. The release is credited to the press service of the Primorsky Krai police directorate.","independence_group":"primorye-police-release-oct-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.vesti.ru/ns/aferisty-vo-vremya-videozvonka-s-gubernatorom-ubedili-primorca-perevesti-dengi","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ru","translation_note":"Read in Russian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200); quotations are Russian originals, and English renderings in the record are the research agent's translations. The report follows the police account of the pensioner's complaint, so it shares the release's independence group.","independence_group":"primorye-police-release-oct-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["How the police established that the video was a deepfake, and which tool made it.","Whether the police examined any recording of the video call: the release body describes only a person who resembled the governor, and Vesti.ru, relaying the police channel, gives the deepfake as the pensioner's own account.","The dates of the first call, the month of calls and the arrest.","Whether the one million roubles the pensioner withdrew were all recovered; the release reports only that he handed over a dummy package."],"geography":{"basis":"The police release places the complainant in the Khorolsky district of Primorsky Krai, Russia, where he reported the fraud and where the courier was arrested.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["RU"],"affected_person_countries":["RU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published because the investigating police directorate's press service attributes the fraud to deepfake technology, describing a video call with a person resembling the regional governor that drew a 77-year-old into a month of daily pressure to hand over his savings. The technical basis of the police attribution is undisclosed.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-22"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The investigating police directorate's press service states that the fraudsters used deepfake technology and that the pensioner saw, in the video conference, a person resembling the regional governor who set the fraud in motion (depicted_or_impersonated: the generated likeness impersonated the governor toward him). The release gives no technical basis for the deepfake attribution and names no tool.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Primorye police say fraudsters used a deepfake of the regional governor in a video call to draw a pensioner into a month-long scam","summary":"The press service of the Interior Ministry's Primorsky Krai directorate said on 21 October 2026 that it had stopped an online fraud in which scammers used deepfake technology. According to the release, a 77-year-old resident of the Khorolsky district was sent a video-conference link in a messenger app and saw on screen a person resembling the region's governor, who told him of a cyberattack on the regional administration and stolen funds routed abroad through his bank account. He was passed to accomplices posing as law enforcement and financial-monitoring officials, who called him daily for a month and urged him to hand over his savings. He withdrew one million roubles but became suspicious and went to the police, who arrested a courier when he handed her a dummy package. A criminal case for attempted large-scale fraud was opened. The police did not say how they established that a deepfake was used.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-21","aiSystem":"A deepfake video likeness of the Primorsky Krai governor shown in a video conference, as described by the regional police; the tool is not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Primorye police, a pensioner deceived by a video call with a deepfake of the governor was pressed by daily calls for a month to hand over his savings and withdrew one million roubles before going to the police; no money was lost.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the 77-year-old pensioner the police release describes. The governor whose likeness was used is not counted because no response from him is reported. The arrested courier is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"elderly","jurisdiction":"RU","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://mvdmedia.ru/news/operativnye-novosti/v-primorskom-krae-politsiya-presekla-onlayn-aferu-s-ispolzovaniem-moshennikami-tekhnologii-dipfeyk/","primarySourceLabel":"MVD Media (press service of the Primorsky Krai police), 21 Oct 2026: police stop online fraud using deepfake technology","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-22T03:12:26.49224+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T03:12:26.49224+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","video-call-fraud","official-impersonation","russia","primorsky-krai","police-release"]}]}