{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-05T08:56:33.996Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"visa-fraud","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"unknown","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":1,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"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-ibague-colombia-ring-ai-altered-faces-voices-video-calls-fake-us-visa-fraud","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'desarticuló en Ibagué una red transnacional señalada de estafar a ciudadanos de siete países con falsas visas y permisos de residencia para Estados Unidos'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'fueron capturadas en flagrancia cinco personas y se realizaron tres diligencias de allanamiento'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Dijín, with the Fiscalía, dismantled in Ibagué a ring accused of defrauding citizens of seven countries with fake visas and residence permits for the United States; five people were captured in flagrante and three searches were carried out.","causal_attribution":"Police and prosecution account; the accusations have not been tested in court."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Mediante la modalidad de DeepFace alteraban sus rostros y acentos durante las videollamadas, logrando suplantar con alta fidelidad a funcionarios consulares y miembros de agencias gubernamentales estadounidenses'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Mediante la modalidad de DeepFace, alteraban sus rostros y acentos durante las videollamadas, logrando suplantar con alta fidelidad a funcionarios consulares y miembros de agencias gubernamentales estadounidenses'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'alterar por completo los rostros, las expresiones, las voces y hasta los acentos en videollamadas'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Dijín director said members altered their faces and accents during video calls and so impersonated consular officials and members of US government agencies. El País (Cali) describes the technology as altering faces, expressions, voices and accents in video calls.","causal_attribution":"Statement of the police director quoted by Caracol Radio and Semana and paraphrased by El País (Cali); no forensic detail is reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'chatbots para la atención inicial de las víctimas, síntesis y clonación de voz, además de videos manipulados para suplantar identidades'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the police, the ring also used chatbots for first contact with victims, voice synthesis and cloning, and manipulated videos.","causal_attribution":"Police description relayed by Caracol Radio."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Esta banda delincuencial habría estafado a más de 500 ciudadanos de siete países mediante la suplantación de funcionarios estadounidenses'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'los implicados habrían manipulado de forma fraudulenta a más de 500 ciudadanos'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Semana and El País (Cali) report that more than 500 citizens are said to have been defrauded or manipulated by the ring.","causal_attribution":"A figure attributed to the investigation and stated conditionally by both outlets."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'la red procedía a exigir cobros económicos que oscilaban entre los 500 y los 2.000 dólares'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"El País (Cali) reports that the ring demanded payments of between 500 and 2,000 dollars once trust was established.","causal_attribution":"Reported by one outlet from the investigation."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'la red afectaba a ciudadanos de Costa Rica, Ecuador, Estados Unidos, Guatemala, Honduras, México y Perú'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'alcanzando a víctimas ubicadas en Estados Unidos, Honduras, Guatemala, Perú, México, Ecuador y Costa Rica'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the authorities, the people affected were citizens of Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Peru; El País (Cali) describes victims located in those countries.","causal_attribution":"Police account relayed by the outlets."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Tres de ellos fueron presentados ante un juez de control de garantías, que legalizó sus capturas'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'falsedad personal agravada por uso de inteligencia artificial'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Caracol Radio reports that three of those captured were brought before a judge who legalised the captures, and that prosecutors charged them with offences including personal falsehood aggravated by the use of artificial intelligence.","causal_attribution":"Charges are allegations; no court record was read."}],"effects":[{"label":"police say people seeking US visas were defrauded by callers posing as consular officials with AI-altered faces and accents","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://caracol.com.co/2026/07/12/cae-red-en-ibague-que-usaba-ia-para-estafar-con-falsas-visas-a-eeuu/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Spanish-language body read in the original on 2026-10-05 by the research agent (an AI). Passages are quoted verbatim in Spanish. English assertions are the agent's own translation and no human translator reviewed them. Caracol Radio, 12 July 2026; relays the police announcement and quotes the Dijín director.","independence_group":"policia-dijin-ibague-visa-ring-statement"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.elpais.com.co/judicial/cae-en-ibague-banda-que-utilizaba-inteligencia-artificial-para-estafar-con-falsas-visas-1412.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Spanish-language body read in the original on 2026-10-05 by the research agent (an AI). Passages are quoted verbatim in Spanish. English assertions are the agent's own translation and no human translator reviewed them. El País (Cali), 14 July 2026; same police announcement.","independence_group":"policia-dijin-ibague-visa-ring-statement"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/cayo-red-que-usaba-inteligencia-artificial-para-estafar-a-ciudadanos-en-los-tramites-de-la-visa/202648/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Spanish-language body read in the original on 2026-10-05 by the research agent (an AI). Passages are quoted verbatim in Spanish. English assertions are the agent's own translation and no human translator reviewed them. Semana, 13 July 2026; same police announcement.","independence_group":"policia-dijin-ibague-visa-ring-statement"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","public_services"],"unknowns":["When the fraud began; the reports date only the operation and say the investigation lasted six months.","How many of the people defrauded took part in a video call with an altered face or voice.","The total amount lost.","Which software was used; Semana says police experts identified it and does not name it.","The outcome of the criminal case."],"geography":{"basis":"The ring operated from properties in Ibagué, where the searches and captures took place, and three people were brought before a Colombian judge (Caracol Radio). El País (Cali) describes victims located in the United States, Honduras, Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Caracol Radio and Semana call the people affected citizens of those countries, which is nationality; only El País (Cali) describes them as located there.","court_countries":["CO"],"event_countries":["CO"],"affected_person_countries":["CR","EC","US","GT","HN","MX","PE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: according to Colombian police, callers used AI-altered faces and voices in video calls, and chatbots, to defraud people seeking US visas. One reporting chain (the police and prosecution announcement) relayed by three outlets, so every claim stays reported. The people captured are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-05"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Dijín director is quoted saying members altered their faces and accents during video calls (Caracol Radio; Semana), and police list chatbots, voice synthesis and cloning and manipulated videos. The altered video calls and chatbots were channels through which targets were spoken to (communicated_with). Semana reports that experts of the police cyber centre identified and neutralised the AI software allegedly used for the impersonations; no body names it, and no forensic report or court finding is cited.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Colombia: police dismantle a ring in Ibagué accused of defrauding people in seven countries with fake US visas, using AI to alter faces and voices in video calls and pose as consular officials","summary":"Colombian police (Dijín) and prosecutors announced in July 2026 that they had dismantled a ring in Ibagué accused of defrauding citizens of seven countries with fake visas and residence permits for the United States. Five people were captured during three searches. The Dijín director said members altered their faces and accents during video calls to pose as consular officials and members of US government agencies; police also described chatbots for first contact, voice cloning and manipulated videos. Semana and El País (Cali) report that more than 500 people are said to have been defrauded, and El País says the ring demanded payments of between 500 and 2,000 dollars. Three of those captured were charged, according to Caracol Radio.","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-07-12","aiSystem":"Face- and accent-altering software used in live video calls (police call the method DeepFace), with chatbots for first contact, voice synthesis and cloning and manipulated videos, as described by Colombian police; no product is identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Police and prosecutors say the ring defrauded people seeking US visas, said in the conditional by Semana and El País (Cali) to number more than 500, with payments of 500 to 2,000 dollars demanded (El País, Cali).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"No reliable count. The authorities say the ring defrauded citizens of seven countries (Caracol Radio; Semana) and give no number in those statements. Semana and El País (Cali) give more than 500 only in the conditional (habría estafado; habrían manipulado), and no body says how many paid or how many took part in a video call with an altered face or voice. Unquantified, with zero placeholders.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"CO","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://caracol.com.co/2026/07/12/cae-red-en-ibague-que-usaba-ia-para-estafar-con-falsas-visas-a-eeuu/","primarySourceLabel":"Caracol Radio, 12 July 2026: Cae red en Ibagué que usaba IA para estafar con falsas visas a EE.UU.","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-05T03:13:55.990498+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T03:13:55.990498+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","video-call-impersonation","voice-cloning","visa-fraud","fraud-ring","colombia","ibague","communicated-with"]}]}