Event date unknownTaiwanUnidentified video tool
Taiwanese police said in June 2025 that a fraud call centre in Shalu district, Taichung, had targeted overseas Chinese women in the United States and Canada with romance-investment fraud. According to the police account reported by SETN and carried by Yahoo News Taiwan on 4 June 2025, the call centre created a range of male personas, cultivated relationships with the women, and video-chatted with them through an 'AI face replacement tool' that swapped the operator's face for a persona's; because the picture was very realistic, police say, many victims believed it, after which they were talked into investing in fake energy products and sending money to accounts the suspects supplied. Police say analysis of seized phones identified seven women in the US and Canada who were defrauded, with losses of about NT$3.5 million so far, and that the number of victims and the amount were still being compiled. A photo caption in the report says officers demonstrated the face-replacement tool. The call centre was raided in November 2024, and nine suspects were referred to Taichung prosecutors, seven of them detained; no indictment or verdict has been found.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 29/10/2026
Event date unknownBrazilUnidentified video tool
A woman in Porto Alegre, Brazil, saw an online video in which the model Gisele Bündchen appeared to promote a free skincare kit, paid the R$44.57 shipping fee and received nothing. Her police report, registered on 4 August 2024, led the Rio Grande do Sul Civil Police to Operation Modo Selva. On 1 October 2025 police executed 26 court orders in five states against a group they say used deepfake videos of celebrities, including Gisele Bündchen and several TV presenters, in fake product promotions; four people had been arrested by the time of the reports. The investigating delegate said the criminals had created a deepfake of the model's image and voice. Police say the scheme moved at least R$20 million, and assets worth up to R$210 million were frozen. The model thanked police for finding criminals who use artificial intelligence for online scams. No charge or trial outcome has been reported since.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 27/10/2026
Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified voice-cloning and deepfake tool
The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) said at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday 23 October 2026 that its operatives arrested three suspects in Lekki, Lagos State, on 14 October over alleged identity theft, investment fraud and money laundering. According to the centre's director, the suspects allegedly operated fake social media accounts impersonating prominent personalities to trick victims into transferring money, and were linked to a cryptocurrency investment scheme promoted through a website called Bitcoin Trading Hub. Investigators said one of the suspects used artificial intelligence voice cloning and deepfake technology to impersonate Tesla chief executive Elon Musk and communicate with victims, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. The police did not say how they established the AI use or which tools were involved, how many people were deceived or how much they lost. Seized devices were undergoing forensic examination to identify victims and trace the proceeds, and the three suspects remained in custody.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 25/10/2026
Event date unknownHong Kong SAR ChinaUnidentified video tool
Hong Kong police said at a press briefing reported by CNN on 4 February 2024 that a finance worker at a multinational firm had been duped into attending a video call with what appeared to be the company's UK-based chief financial officer and other staff, all of whom were deepfake recreations, and had then remitted a total of HK$200 million (about US$25.6 million). In May 2024 the British engineering firm Arup confirmed to CNN and the Guardian that it was the company involved, that it had notified Hong Kong police in January 2024, and that fake voices and images were used. The worker was not named.
Core concern High reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 22/10/2026
Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified image tool
The Westpfalz police headquarters reported on 3 June 2026, in a release datelined Kaiserslautern, that a woman had been extorted with an AI-generated nude photo. According to the police's current findings, a man edited a picture of her with artificial intelligence; through a messaging service he demanded a mid four-figure sum and threatened to publish the photo. She went to the police on Tuesday 2 June and an investigation was opened.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 20/10/2026
Event date unknownNetherlandsUnidentified image tool
Dutch police said on 4 September 2025 that they had arrested a man in a Gelderland municipality the day before on suspicion of making sexually explicit deepfakes, which they call deepnudes, and spreading them through channels such as WhatsApp groups, and of sending women unsolicited photos of his genitals and sexual messages. According to the police, 130 victims from across the country reported to them over recent years and were regularly and repeatedly harassed; NOS reports, citing the police, that images were manipulated for some of them, that the exact number is unclear, and that the police suspect the conduct began in 2021 or 2022. The police seized digital data carriers and said the Public Prosecution Service would decide on the consequences. No tool is named.
Core concern High reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 19/10/2026
Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image tool
Dainik Bhaskar reports that police at Belipar station in Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh, registered a first information report on the complaint of a married woman who alleges that a man she met over her sister's family dispute secretly photographed her, made the photo obscene with AI and posted it on Facebook. According to the complaint, he then used the image to blackmail her and pressure her to talk to him, verbally abused her when she objected, threatened to send the photo to her relatives, and on 30 September stopped her on the road and threatened to kill her. The station officer is quoted as saying the case is under investigation. The report rests on the complaint; the tool and the extent of the Facebook circulation are not described.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 11/10/2026
Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image tool
Three Hindi outlets report that police in Bahraich district, Uttar Pradesh, registered a case on a complaint by a man who alleges that two young men took photos from his sister's mobile phone, turned them into obscene images with AI and blackmailed her by threatening to spread them on social media, while repeatedly contacting her and causing her mental distress. She is described as a teenager (a minor, per Amar Ujala; Dainik Bhaskar describes her as a woman), and Amar Ujala says the photos were taken after she took her broken phone to a local shop for repair. The station officer is quoted as saying a first information report was registered and the case is under investigation. Bhaskar Digital notes that the allegations can only be confirmed by the police investigation. The images, the tool and any distribution beyond the threats are not described.
Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources · Added 11/10/2026
Event date unknownMalaysiaUnidentified image and video tool
On 8 October 2026 the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said in a statement, reported by Malaysia Tribune, The Malaysia Press and The Star, that it had received a complaint about the misuse of artificial intelligence on social media to produce and spread sexual images and videos alleged to involve teachers and pupils of a school in Kedah. MCMC said it would investigate with the Ministry of Communications, the Home Ministry, the Ministry of Education and the Royal Malaysia Police, cited the offences and penalties that could apply, and asked the public not to produce, upload or reshare sexual content involving or alleged to involve children. The complaint is unverified: the people depicted, their number and ages, the tool and the person responsible are not described.
Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 09/10/2026
Event date unknownUnited Kingdom, GeorgiaUnidentified video tool
A man in his 30s from East Anglia, England, told the Guardian (pseudonym used) that he watched a video of broadcaster Ben Fogle apparently promoting cryptocurrency trading on a site called AdmiralsFX, entered his details, was called by what turned out to be a Tbilisi call centre, paid a £250 buy-in and within a month had handed over £27,000, about a year's salary. The Guardian describes the clip as a deepfake, a digitally doctored video Fogle had publicly warned about in spring 2024. The account was published in March 2025 as part of a Guardian, SVT and OCCRP investigation of a leak from the Georgian operation, which the Guardian says duped at least 6,179 people and whose victims frequently cited the deepfake ads as the reason they went ahead.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 09/10/2026
Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image tool
Dainik Bhaskar reported on 29 September 2026 that an AI-made obscene picture of a minor schoolgirl in Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh, had been spread on social media. Her father said a young man from their village posted the picture on Instagram. The family alleges that police took no action for a month after their complaint on 28 August. According to the report, a quarrel broke out after the accused taunted the girl's mother; the family alleges that police then let him go, while action was taken against five people including the father, who was issued a breach-of-peace challan. The family complained to a state cabinet minister and the district police chief, after which the station in-charge said the case would be investigated and registered. The account is the family's, as relayed by one local report.
Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 06/10/2026
Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image tool
Amar Ujala reported on 1 October 2026 that a woman and her niece living in Greater Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, complained to the police cyber cell that an unknown person had used AI to edit their photos into obscene images and spread them on social media. The woman told the paper that a family member had posted the photos on social media a few days earlier. The complaint was made on Thursday, the day the report was published, and police said they were examining the links on social media and other digital evidence. No accused is identified. The account rests on the complaint as relayed by one local report.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 06/10/2026
Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image and video tool
According to Pudhari and Divya Marathi (both 2 October 2026), a 35-year-old woman from Ambad who had been active in the Maratha reservation agitation publicly criticised the stance of its leader, Manoj Jarange Patil, in remarks to the media on 26 September. According to Pudhari's account of her complaint, some of his supporters then targeted her on social media: obscene photos and videos of her made with AI were posted on Facebook, and posts abused her in obscene language and threatened rape and death. Divya Marathi reports that her face was placed on obscene pictures and videos with AI deepfake technology and that the material spread on Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram. She went to Ambad police station on 1 October with screenshots, saying she had been defamed and that she and her family were in danger. Police registered an FIR against five named profile holders and five to six others under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 67 of the Information Technology Act. No arrest is reported.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 05/10/2026
Event date unknownThailandUnidentified video and voice-cloning tool
Manager Online reported on 2 July 2026, citing the Royal Thai Police and its Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, that cyber police had moved against a large online gambling network after finding that it used AI to fake the face and voice of Hai Arpaporn Nakhonsawan, a well-known luk thung singer, in advertising clips that urged people to join the website. The clips gave the false impression that she recommended the site, although she had no involvement. Police traced the clips to the website KFC888, which offered online lottery, foreign stock-index lottery and sports betting, with turnover estimated at about 120 million baht a month. They searched two locations in Bangkok, a residence believed to be linked to the site's executives and an electronic payment-gateway company, seized computers and documents, and summoned an authorised person of the company to acknowledge charges including a Computer Crime Act offence over AI-created images that may damage others. Komchadluek reported on 1 July that the singer went to the cyber police after Facebook Reels clips altered with AI used her face and voice without her consent.
Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026
Event date unknownFinlandUnidentified image tool
Southeast Finland Police (Kaakkois-Suomen poliisi) opened a preliminary investigation in August 2026 into a case in which a minor boy in Lappeenranta is suspected of using AI to create nude images of several underage girls; Ilta-Sanomat reported that he is suspected of using social media photos of girls he knew, while the investigator told the paper that police could not yet comment on the method. On 25 August the lead investigator told Yle there were tens of victims, possibly more than a hundred, all from the Lappeenranta area; on 28 August police said the number of complainants had proved significantly smaller than first estimated, without giving a figure. Police are investigating the case as aggravated distribution of an image depicting a child sexually, an offence that also covers making such images, and said they were not aware that the AI images had been spread or sold onward. Student welfare professionals offered conversation and crisis support to young people in the town. Police also said the suspect had been threatened and harassed and that someone had tried to break into the suspect's home. The AI tool is not identified; victims and suspect are not named. Yle reported on 27 October 2026 that police had identified 45 victims with certainty, up from 37 about a month earlier; the detective inspector estimated that the final number could rise to fifty and said police aimed to complete the preliminary investigation by the end of the year.
Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 6 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 02/10/2026
Event date unknownSpainUnidentified video tool
Spain's Policía Nacional said on 11 August 2026 that it had arrested in Murcia a suspect who tried to obtain electronic signature certificates in other people's names from a company that issues them. During the company's video identity checks the suspect appeared on camera holding a forged DNI identity card while AI software modified the suspect's face in real time to match the photo on the forged document. Police say the suspect made 38 attempts using the identities of more than 30 real citizens and succeeded in impersonating multiple victims, aiming to use the signatures for later scams. A short processing delay in the face-modification software made the digital mask disappear for barely a second, exposing the suspect's real face to the issuer's security staff.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 02/10/2026
Event date unknownFinlandUnidentified image tool
Yle reported in May 2026 that a man in a small Finnish town is suspected of using AI to turn photos of women he knew, including friends, colleagues and relatives, into topless or fully nude images and posting them, among several hundred images of the women that included original clothed photos, on two pornography sites. The women did not know about the images until Yle contacted them. Police opened a preliminary investigation for unauthorised distribution of a sexual image and defamation. By 1 October 2026 the head of the investigation confirmed 23 criminal complaints, but no victim had yet been interviewed. Yle counts more than 50 victims, not all identified. The suspect was dismissed from his job and earlier denied to Yle by email that he knew about the matter.
Core concern High reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 02/10/2026
Event date unknownItalyUnidentified image tool
The Squadra mobile of the Rimini police reported a minor to prosecutors, accused of making and spreading images manipulated with artificial intelligence. According to the Polizia di Stato, the investigation began after a report that images apparently created with AI were circulating in which a girl's face had been attached to a nude body without her knowledge. Corriere di Bologna reports that the minor was reported to the juvenile prosecutor's office in Bologna on 30 September 2026 for unlawful dissemination of AI-falsified content and child pornography, and that investigators say the image was sent to friends and acquaintances on WhatsApp. Neither the girl nor the accused is identified.
Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 02/10/2026
Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image and video tool
Nai Dunia reported on 1 October 2026 that police in Neemuch City, Madhya Pradesh, had registered a case against a man from Shahjahanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, who is a relative of a local woman through her own family (the complainant husband's in-laws' side). According to the complaint filed by her husband, the man used AI to edit photos and videos of the woman into obscene, objectionable material, sent them to her phone and blackmailed her. When she resisted he threatened to kill her husband and two children, and he threatened to spread the material to shame her socially and within the family. Over about seven to eight months, the complaint says, he sent QR codes of 20 to 25 different people to her phone and extracted roughly ₹50 lakh in 50 to 60 payments, which she sent through a neighbour and other women. The man had lived in the family's home and worked at the husband's business for about six months two to two and a half years earlier, which the complainant says gave him knowledge of the family's income and property. Nai Dunia reported that police were investigating and trying to arrest the accused. The account is the complainant's as reported by one newspaper; the images were not inspected.
Core concern High reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 02/10/2026
Event date unknownItalyUnidentified video tool
CentroPagina reported on 28 September 2026 that on two separate occasions in Fano and Fossombrone (Marche), fraudsters used a video call modified with artificial intelligence, showing a face and the Carabinieri emblem on screen. A 70-year-old man in Fano was told by a caller posing as a Carabinieri officer that his car was involved in a jewellery-shop robbery and that he had to show his gold to clear himself. On the video call he showed his jewellery one piece at a time; while he was kept on the phone, an accomplice came to the door and took gold jewellery and cash, reportedly a few thousand euros. An 80-year-old man in Fossombrone was targeted the same way and lost jewellery worth a few thousand euros; he did not make the two online transfers totalling 15,000 euros that the fraudsters then demanded as bail. The victims alerted the Carabinieri, who are seeking those responsible.
Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 01/10/2026