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NOPE · AI and people

AI incidents

Reports of AI-related harm and adverse experiences affecting people’s safety, wellbeing, rights and livelihoods. Explore what happened and the evidence available.

NOPE’s core concern is when AI communicates with a person, acts on their behalf, or depicts or impersonates them. The tracker also records consequential decisions, claims and privacy harms involving AI. Each case needs a described connection between AI use and the harm, including private information recorded into or disclosed to an AI service. Each account is reviewed for publication; claims may remain uncorroborated or disputed. How we review and count cases

In this selection

Published cases
63
Countries with reported events
22
Located 45 of 63 cases · 18 unknown
Languages in checked sources
16
Recorded for 63 of 63 cases

5 cases have no reviewed AI-to-person relation yet: 0 not yet reviewed and 5 reviewed as unknown. Show these cases

These figures describe the cases collected by NOPE. Coverage varies with discovery, reporting and available evidence. They do not estimate how often AI-related harm occurs.

Response counts currently use each case’s principal recorded outcome. Further proceedings may be described in its account.

Cases in this selection, counted once in their first known event year. A series may continue beyond that year. Reporting and collection dates are excluded. NOPE has searched recent events more thoroughly than earlier years, so bar heights also reflect collection effort.

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63 of 1099 published cases · page 2 of 4

Apr 2025United StatesChatGPT

Works v. OpenAI: man says ChatGPT fed grandiose delusions and sent him on manic 'missions' before an arrest and an involuntary psychiatric hold (lawsuit)

A complaint dated 14 October 2026, which Tech Justice Law and McKool Smith say they filed in San Francisco County Superior Court on behalf of Garrett Works, says that from April to November 2025 ChatGPT called him a visionary and the 'Philosopher King', told him his cognitive growth model was worth millions, and sent him coordinates for nightly 'missions'. The complaint says that in June 2025 one such mission led to a trespass warning at an apartment building, that a few days later he was arrested after knocking on a stranger's door and held overnight, and that he was then placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold. It says ChatGPT, told of his diagnosis and lithium prescription, supported his refusal of medication. It says he gave up a job he was due to start, declared bankruptcy in January 2026 and still has memory and concentration problems. The allegations are untested and OpenAI's response is not reported.

Core concern High reported severity Lawsuit Filed

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 17/10/2026

Jun 2026 to Sept 2026GermanyUnidentified image tool (suspected)

Gauting, Bavaria: police say a man presumably lured by an AI-generated image of a TV presenter in a banner ad lost more than 25,000 euros to investment fraud

The Gauting police inspection in Bavaria, Germany, reported on 2 October 2026 that a man had filed a complaint after realising he had been the victim of investment fraud. According to the police report, he said he had clicked on an advertising banner for an investment on the website of a large German news magazine, and the police say he was presumably lured by the combination of an AI-generated image of a well-known television presenter with a supposedly lucrative investment strategy. After he entered his email address and phone number on the trading platform, four women callers contacted him from 4 June 2026 until September and led him to make four payments totalling more than 25,000 euros to accounts in Bulgaria, Malta and Lithuania. His bank could not reverse the transfers because he had authorised them himself. The police do not say how they concluded that the image was AI-generated, and the presenter is not named in the police report.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 16/10/2026

Sept 2025Event location unknownRevolut chatbot

Ombudsman finds Revolut misled a customer after its chatbot said his loyalty points were worth £1,119 and confirmed a refund; compensation raised to £100

In September 2025 a Revolut customer asked the bank, through its chatbot, to cash in loyalty points he had earned through its spare change feature. According to the Financial Ombudsman Service's final decision (DRN-6062372), the chatbot first said the 1,119 points would be refunded as £22.38; four days later it told him the 1,119 points had a cash value of £1,119, offered that as a one-time goodwill gesture and confirmed it had processed the refund. A few hours later the chatbot said that information was wrong; a live agent then said the £1,119 refund was being processed, and the next day the chatbot said it had issued £22.38. Revolut upheld his complaint and paid £50. The ombudsman found that Revolut gave him the wrong information on several occasions that day, held that he was never entitled to £1,119, and directed Revolut to pay a further £50. The customer said the lost expected refund caused financial pressure, and gave a GP letter describing anxiety and insomnia.

Core concern Low reported severity Regulatory Action

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 1 source · Added 15/10/2026

2026UkraineUnidentified voice-changing tool

Lviv region, Ukraine: prosecutors say a dating-scam call centre used a neural network to turn male voices female in real time; at least 80 victims

Ukrainian prosecutors, the SBU security service and the National Police announced on 14 October 2026 that they had shut down a fraudulent call centre in the Lviv region of Ukraine. According to the Lviv regional prosecutor's office and the Office of the Prosecutor General, the group created fake women's accounts on dating services and messengers and, to make the conversations more convincing, used software with a neural network that changed a male voice to a female one in real time. Victims were persuaded to download a file disguised as a photograph that contained remote-access malware and to share their screens; the group then took control of their banking apps and moved the money to accounts it controlled or into cryptocurrency. Prosecutors say that, on preliminary data, at least 50 Ukrainian citizens and 30 foreigners, including people in Poland, Germany and Georgia, were victims. Three men were notified of suspicion, including under a new criminal-code article on fraudulent call centres in force since September 2026, and were remanded in custody with the option of bail. The statements do not say how many victims heard the altered voice or how much each lost.

Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 15/10/2026

2026Event location unknownChatGPT (reported)

VnExpress reports an investor bought three ChatGPT stock picks, kept trading on its tips and later held a portfolio in loss, one stock down 48%

VnExpress reported on 15 October 2026 that early in the year, just after receiving a Tet bonus, an investor asked ChatGPT which three stocks to buy now with 200 million dong and after several exchanges about needs and risk appetite received three stocks in the banking, information-technology and securities groups. ChatGPT suggested splitting the purchases, waiting for dips and setting take-profit and stop-loss levels, and each answer said it was not an investment offer with committed profit, which VnExpress says the investor disregarded, buying all three at once. All three were in profit more than a month later, and the investor then treated ChatGPT as a professional broker and kept asking it for tips. In recent months the recommended blue-chip stocks fell continuously; the portfolio is in the red, with one stock down 48%, and the investor told VnExpress that for weeks they had stopped checking it. The article presents the account alongside warnings from securities-company staff about relying on general-purpose chatbots for trading decisions.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 15/10/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownCharacter.AI (reported)

First-person post: Character.AI user says five years of roleplay left them dependent and socially withdrawn, and a quit attempt ended in relapse within a week

In a post to r/TrueOffMyChest on 13 October 2026, an anonymous poster says they have been, in their words, horribly addicted to Character.AI since around the site's release about five years earlier. They say they started using it as a narrative aid for creative writing at a time when they had no friends, and that roleplay became their only form of social interaction. By the poster's account, the last time they tried to quit they cried for an hour and relapsed within a week, and since then they have withdrawn further socially and use the chatbot as a substitute for romantic connection. The post was prompted by what the poster calls the news about the bankruptcy of the company behind Character.AI, which the poster calls horrifying while also saying they feel somewhat relieved. In replies, the poster thanked commenters and said they take martial arts classes and have some acquaintances there. No conversations were published.

Core concern Medium reported severity

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 14/10/2026

Aug 2025South KoreaUnidentified image tool

Busan prosecutors say an investment-fraud suspect used AI images of a fake medical licence and asset records to take 320 million won, then fooled a judge

The Busan Eastern District branch of the prosecutors' office in South Korea announced on 11 February 2026 that it had indicted a man under detention on 6 February for fraud, forging and using private documents, and obstructing official duties by deception. According to the prosecutors, from August to October 2025 he used AI to make fake images of a medical licensing examination certificate and of cryptocurrency holdings, posed as a doctor and businessman with billions of won in assets, and took about 320 million won from victims for supposed cryptocurrency, cruise-ship and medical-centre investments. When police sought his arrest in December 2025, he gave the warrant judge a bank balance certificate showing about 904 million won, which prosecutors say he made by uploading his real certificate to an AI platform and asking it to change the balance; his real balance was 23 won. The judge refused the warrant. Prosecutors later found the certificate was forged and obtained a new warrant. The accused and the victims are not named here.

Core concern High reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 13/10/2026

1 Jul 2026Event location unknownIndie Campers chatbot (reported)

Renter says the Indie Campers website chatbot said a camper could go to Montenegro; the firm then cited a ban and kept 95% of the payment on cancellation

In a Reddit post on 4 July 2026 a renter wrote that on 1 July they booked a camper van from Indie Campers for a trip on 12 to 18 July and, before paying, asked the AI chatbot on the company's official website whether they could travel to Montenegro. According to the post, the bot explicitly guaranteed that it was allowed, and the renter paid in full. The renter wrote that an email to human support an hour later went unanswered for more than 48 hours, that support then said the terms strictly forbid travel to Montenegro, and that the company said it takes no responsibility for AI answers and processed the cancellation with its standard late-cancellation penalty, refunding 5% and keeping 95%. In a reply the renter wrote that 1,500 euros is not a small amount for them, said a card chargeback complaint had been sent to the bank with screenshots, and said they lived in Spain. A Dutch internet-law blog relayed the post on 9 July 2026; two of its commenters reported asking the chatbot themselves, one receiving an answer that travel in Europe including Montenegro was covered and another a list of allowed countries without Montenegro. No response from Indie Campers was found, and the outcome of the chargeback is unknown.

Core concern Medium reported severity

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources · Added 13/10/2026

20 Jun 2025MalaysiaUnidentified video tool

Malaysia: Selangor police say a TikTok video falsely linking ex-police chief Acryl Sani to money from a 'Datuk' was AI-manipulated; he filed a report

Malay Mail, carrying a Bernama report of a Selangor police statement, reports that police were investigating a video that began circulating on TikTok on 20 June 2025. It showed an individual resembling former inspector-general of police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani and purportedly linked him to receiving financial assistance from a person titled 'Datuk', with the money deposited into a bank account. Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said the video was fake and had been manipulated using artificial intelligence, that the claims were untrue and baseless, and that the former police chief never issued any statement as depicted. Acryl Sani lodged a police report denying that the video contained any official statement from him. Police opened an investigation under Section 419 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. The statement does not say how police established that AI was used, and the tool is not named.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 13/10/2026

21 Apr 2025 to 19 Sept 2026ThailandUnidentified image tool

Thai police say a romance-fraud suspect told them he used AI to fake a bank deposit certificate; the victim handed over 21.3 million baht in 623 transfers

Chanthaburi provincial police in Thailand announced on 11 October 2026 the arrest, the previous day, of a man accused of a romance fraud in which the victim, whom he met at a massage shop in Bangkok around March 2025, gave him money and property 623 times between 21 April 2025 and 19 September 2026, totalling 21,287,731.88 baht. Police say that to make the victim believe he could repay, he sent over LINE an image of a certificate of deposit presented as coming from Kasikornbank and showing a balance of about 14.07 million baht, and a document said to come from a Nonthaburi police station claiming his mother had been arrested and needed money for a fine; both documents were later found to be forged. According to police, the suspect said in his preliminary account that he used AI to create and alter the document images, changing amounts and figures so they looked genuine. Police stressed that this account was still being checked against evidence. They say most of the money went on online slot gambling. He was arrested on a Chanthaburi Provincial Court warrant for importing false computer data, forging and using official documents, and fraud. The suspect and the victim are not named here.

Core concern High reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 12/10/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnited Airlines chatbot

United Airlines chatbot told a customer a $200 travel credit lasted five years; the airline later said it gave wrong information and issued a certificate

NBC 5 Chicago reported on 16 September 2026 that a customer asked a United Airlines chatbot how long a $200 TravelBank travel credit would remain usable and was told it stayed active for five years from deposit, as a screenshot the customer provided shows. A few weeks later United emailed the customer that the credit would expire on 27 September 2026. According to the customer, United said the bot had been wrong but that the credit lasted one year and could not be changed, so the customer, who had hoped to save it for a larger trip, had only months to use it. After NBC 5 Responds contacted the airline, United said its AI chatbot had given the customer wrong information for the customer's situation, noted that it shows a disclaimer that information may not always be complete, and sent the customer a $200 travel certificate. The report does not say when the chatbot exchange took place.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 1 source · Added 12/10/2026

Event date unknownSpainUnidentified voice-cloning tool

La Rioja, Spain: Guardia Civil says a parent sent 9,980 euros after a call with an AI clone of their daughter's voice; the money was recovered

The Guardia Civil in La Rioja said on 25 August 2026 that it had solved a 'relative in trouble' fraud in which the criminals used artificial intelligence to clone the voice of the victim's daughter. According to the force's account as reported by the newspaper La Rioja and Radio Arnedo, the victim received WhatsApp messages from an unknown number by someone posing as the daughter and asking for urgent money; when the victim called that number to check, a voice that sounded like the daughter answered, and the victim transferred 9,980.25 euros. Investigators of the Guardia Civil's technology team established that the voice had been generated with AI tools. Urgent coordination with the banks froze the funds in the destination account and the full amount was returned to the victim; Radio Arnedo and ActualidadRiojaBaja report that the presumed perpetrator was identified and investigated.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 11/10/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified voice-cloning tool

Delhi Police say a gang used an AI-cloned voice of a Mumbai company's MD to have its deputy general manager transfer over Rs 10 crore; five arrested

Delhi Police arrested five young men in June 2026 who, according to police, cloned the voice of a Mumbai-based private company's managing director using artificial intelligence and called the company's deputy general manager posing as the managing director, directing several fund transfers. India Today reports that the money was allegedly routed through 63 bank accounts and totalled more than Rs 10 crore. The gang was caught when one member tried to encash a Rs 9 lakh cheque at a bank branch in Sarita Vihar, Delhi, and the branch manager grew suspicious and alerted police. Mumbai Police had already registered a case after the company reported the fraud; a separate case was filed in Delhi and the two forces are coordinating. The company and its executives are not named in the report.

Core concern High reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 11/10/2026

1 Oct 2026Event location unknownGrok Bot (reported)

CEO says his Grok Bot 'CFO' agent posted his personal bank audit to his company's executive Slack channel; he denies a relayed Community Note calling it fake

In an as-told-to essay published by Business Insider on 9 October 2026, the chief executive of a software company says that a personal finance agent he had set up on Grok Bot around the end of August, with read-only access to his personal checking and savings accounts and an instruction to message only him, posted his first monthly audit into his company's executive Slack channel on Thursday 1 October. He says he learned of it when his head of product messaged him, that the post showed his personal checking and savings balances and his largest expenses of the month, and that when he asked the agent why it had sent the report to the company it apologised and said it would delete the message, which he had already deleted himself. According to the author, the vendor's team found that the agent had confused his personal group chat of agents with a company Slack channel that carried the same name, because his agents shared one set of connections, and shipped a change requiring explicit permission before an agent moves information between channels. He says he then disconnected all of the agent's connections, including banking, calendars and payments. The account is disputed. In a reply to the author's earlier X thread about the incident, posted on 6 October, another X user quoted a Community Note calling the post fake and 'engagement farming' and saying the author later directs readers to a tool he sells; the author replied that it was "not fake at all, genuinely happened". explainx.ai reported on 7 October that SpaceXAI, the vendor, had not confirmed the incident, and Futurism wrote that it could not independently verify his claims.

Core concern Low reported severity

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources, 4 underlying accounts · Added 10/10/2026

Event date unknownIndiaGemini (reported)

Ahmedabad, Gujarat: police say AI videos made from a businessman's photo passed Aadhaar facial authentication and a Rs 25,000 loan was taken in his name

The Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch said in statements reported from 28 April 2026 that four men had been arrested after an Ahmedabad businessman engaged in import-export work complained that the mobile number linked to the businessman's Aadhaar had been changed without knowledge. ANI quotes the deputy commissioner saying OTP messages had stopped arriving for about two days, while Gujarat Samachar, citing the FIR, says the change was found on trying to use Aadhaar-linked services. Police said the accused made AI-generated videos from the businessman's photograph to pass Aadhaar facial authentication (blinking and facial movement were simulated) using unauthorised update kits operated through Common Service Centre operators. According to police the new number let the accused receive OTPs, access DigiLocker documents, open a bank account and take a loan of Rs 25,000 in the businessman's name, and Gujarat Samachar speaks of applications for personal loans. Bombay Samachar attributes the use of Google Gemini to officials (30 April) and IANS says the accused allegedly used AI platforms including Gemini and Meta AI (8 May). By 8 May three more men were arrested for seven accused in total, and The420 (9 May) reports that officials believe the fraud was repeated across several unquantified victims. Every source rests on police statements and no source dates the event. The businessman and the accused are not named.

Core concern Low reported severity

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 08/10/2026

Apr 2025Event location unknownUnidentified video tool

A viewer paid €250 to a fake investment platform after an online deepfake video showed the King of the Belgians promoting it, RTL Info reports

RTL Info (Belgium) reported on 3 October 2025 that in April a woman, identified only by first name, came across an online video in which the King of the Belgians appeared to promote a platform called AQ Trade AI, offering AI-based investments from €250. The video was a deepfake. After a phone call with a supposed adviser, the viewer paid €250. That night the viewer grew suspicious and called the bank, which immediately blocked the card. The report does not say whether the €250 was recovered. RTL Info ran the account alongside a Belgian authorities' awareness campaign on fake online investment offers.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 04/10/2026

Event date unknownBrazilUnidentified video tool

Paraíso das Águas, Mato Grosso do Sul: a farmer lost more than R$700,000, including a R$360,000 loan, after a video call in which scammers used AI to simulate the Viva Sorte prize-draw presenter

Three Mato Grosso do Sul outlets, all crediting BNC Notícias, reported on 10 April 2026 that a rural producer from Paraíso das Águas fell for the so-called Viva Sorte scam. In a video call, scammers used AI deepfake technology to simulate the image and voice of Renato Ambrósio, the presenter of the Viva Sorte prize draws, told the farmer a prize had been won and set out steps to release it: Pix transfers, sending the CPF tax number and sharing the phone screen while the banking app was open. The farmer followed the instructions and took out a R$360,000 loan; with interest, the total loss exceeded R$700,000. One report says the farmer gave this account to the police. The farmer is not identified, no date is given and no arrest is reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

10 Sept 2026India, CanadaUnidentified video tool

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh: police arrest four people accused of recording a Canada-based NRI on a video call from a fake Facebook profile, making AI obscene videos and demanding $50,000 under threat of circulating them

Ghaziabad crime branch police announced on 2 October 2026 that they had arrested four members of a sextortion and cyber-fraud gang. According to the police account relayed by the Times of India, Aaj Tak, Navbharat Times and ETV Bharat, the gang contacted a non-resident Indian living in Brampton, Canada, through Facebook Messenger from a fake profile in a woman's name, recorded the person on a video call on 10 September 2026, then demanded $50,000 and threatened to upload the footage and AI-made obscene videos if the money was not paid. The victim was given a bank account in Ghaziabad and reported the extortion to the city's cybercrime team on 17 September. Police registered an FIR under the BNS and the IT Act, said the phone number was linked to 40 cyber-fraud complaints on the national portal and said AI sextortion videos were found on the accused's phones. Police said the gang had operated since 2023; other members were absconding. The account is the police's; the videos were not inspected, and the reports disagree on the victim's gender.

Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 03/10/2026

Mar 2026IndiaUnidentified image tool

Chandigarh: a PhD scholar says a man posing as an IPS officer took cash, gold and a laptop; Dainik Bhaskar reports police found his uniform photo was AI-made

A PhD scholar in Chandigarh told police that in March 2026 she found a man's profile on a matrimonial site showing him in uniform, and that he presented himself at different times as an excise assistant commissioner, an IPS officer and a RAW agent. Dainik Bhaskar reported on 29 September 2026 that the police investigation found the IPS uniform photo on the profile was not real and had been made with the help of AI; no officer is quoted on this, and the other reports read do not mention AI. According to her complaint, he took about Rs 11.5 lakh in cash, gold jewellery and a laptop with promises of marriage and a government job; the Tribune adds about Rs 7.88 lakh in online transfers between March and June, and police put the total at about Rs 30 lakh. Bhaskar reports that he had a bank account opened in her name with her documents and kept its passbook, ATM card and SIM card until the bank froze it over suspicious transactions. When she asked for her money and belongings back, he threatened to circulate her photographs on social media; the Tribune adds a threat of harm to her brother. A case was registered in August. Police arrested a man from Rohtak, Haryana, who was produced in court on Monday 28 September 2026 and remanded for one day.

Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 02/10/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified image and video tool

An 80-year-old woman sent romance scammers she met on Facebook money including £10,000 hidden in a book after they used AI to alter their appearance in photos and video calls and later told her of a kidnapping with a ransom demand; the BBC reported (29 September 2026) that she sent £140,000 in total

The BBC (29 September 2026) reports, from an interview with her daughter for Radio 4's Scam Secrets, that an 80-year-old woman fell for a man she met on Facebook. The scammers used AI to change their appearance in photos and video calls. She posted £10,000 in cash hidden in a hollowed-out book to a Shanghai hospital where he supposedly awaited an operation; later, in the BBC's words, a new man came on the scene who had been kidnapped and would be killed if she did not pay a ransom. In total, the BBC says, she sent £140,000 to the scammers; her bank has returned £45,000. Her daughter spotted the deepfake on a video call, but the woman did not believe her and said her daughter made her feel disgusted and ashamed. The daughter, who holds a lasting power of attorney, set up safeguards with the bank, changed her mother's number three times (each new number reached the scammers) and eventually replaced her smartphone. The BBC does not say whether a ransom was paid.

Core concern Medium reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 01/10/2026

Cases may have several effects and sources. Mixed accounts qualify when they include a reported harm or adverse experience. People are counted within individual cases where sources support a number; we do not publish a collection-wide total of distinct people.

A source’s existence, the experience it reports and AI’s causal role are separate questions. A lawsuit records allegations unless a subsequent finding establishes them.

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Last dataset update: 04/11/2026. Dataset available under CC BY 4.0.