Event date unknownHong Kong SAR ChinaUnidentified video tool
Hong Kong police described a syndicate that used deepfake romantic personas to induce investments by people in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. SCMP reported alleged criminal proceeds exceeding HK$34 million and a January 2025 operation arresting thirty-one suspects. An official police budget reply separately identifies that January operation and the amount involved. The first scam date, number of affected people and individual loss allocations are unknown. A different October 2024 operation involving twenty-seven arrests is kept separate.
Core concern Medium reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026
Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified image tool
BitDegree reports an account by Bitcoin adviser Terence Michael about a client who transferred his retirement savings to someone posing as a trader and romantic partner. Michael reportedly tried to stop the transfers and said the scammer later admitted using AI-generated photos. The client also bought a plane ticket. The original social post could not be read directly, and the client's identity, location and first event date are unknown. A later explanatory article's detailed live-deepfake claims are not independently established.
Core concern Medium reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026
Event date unknownCanadaUnidentified video tool
A report relaying W5's investigation describes a Prince Edward Island man who lost C$600,000 after an online video falsely presented a cryptocurrency investment as associated with Dragon's Den. The report identifies the two Canadian accounts as deepfake scams. He reportedly increased his payments while being shown fake profits and could not withdraw the funds. His first contact date and the specific generation method are unknown.
Core concern High reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 30/09/2026
Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified video tool
A Leesburg man told WKMG that he lost nearly $45,000 after a purported Elon Musk giveaway and subsequent investment offers. He described personalised video messages, payments, depleted accounts and maxed-out credit cards. The outlet presents the case in its AI deepfake investigation. He also said his wife wanted a divorce because of the scam; no completed divorce or loss of his home is established.
Core concern Medium reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 30/09/2026
25 Feb 2025 to 23 Apr 2025IndiaUnidentified video tool
Bengaluru police said a retired woman lost about Rs 3.75 crore after encountering a purported AI-generated video of Sadhguru promoting investments. The Indian Express reports that the contact and transfers took place from 25 February to 23 April 2025. According to the reported FIR, the video led to a trading platform and subsequent contact with scammers, who showed apparent profits. The woman realised the problem when withdrawal attempts prompted further payment demands. Police were attempting to freeze accounts, while warning recovery would be difficult.
Core concern High reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026
Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified voice-cloning tool
A Chicago-area man told ABC7 that he sent $10,000 in cryptocurrency to someone posing as Elon Musk. The outlet reports that the scammer used AI-assembled voice messages using Musk's voice, alongside social media messages, apparent investment returns and a promised vehicle. The man said he could not retrieve the money after several months and was struggling to pay ordinary bills. The beginning of the contact and the technical creation of the messages remain unknown.
Core concern Medium reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 30/09/2026
May 2026United StatesUnidentified voice-cloning tool (suspected)
ABC7 (KGO-TV, 24 May 2026) and ABC News (a Good Morning America segment, 26 May 2026) reported that a Bay Area woman received a call from an unknown number in May 2026. The caller said the woman's adult daughter had been kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel and played a voice the woman believed was the daughter's, in panic. The woman followed the caller's instructions for about five hours, feared for the daughter's life and wired $5,400 to Mexico. The woman then phoned the daughter, who said the daughter was at work, and realized the call was a scam. ABC7 states that scammers used artificial intelligence to mimic the daughter's voice, and ABC News describes AI as what the woman suspects was used. Neither outlet reports an analysis of the audio or a police finding about a cloned voice. An Operation Shamrock representative quoted by both outlets spoke of voice cloning in general terms and not about this call. ABC7 reports that Martinez police said they are investigating, and the woman said the money is not expected to be recovered. Both outlets rest on the woman's own account. The woman is described by role and the daughter is not named.
Core concern Medium reported severity
AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026
23 Mar 2026 to 24 Mar 2026United StatesUnidentified voice-cloning tool
The Spokesman-Review (8 May 2026) reported that a 75-year-old man in Washington state took a call on Monday 23 March in which a crying voice presented as the man's adult daughter said an accident had happened and asked for help. Male voices then described a collision and said the daughter had been taken hostage. The newspaper states that the daughter's voice on the call was an AI-generated copy and that investigators later surmised the callers used a recording of the daughter's voice with a program that mimicked the speech pattern. Over about 30 hours the callers directed the man to banks and stores in Washington and Idaho, where $13,000 was wired. The man was about to withdraw $17,000 when a bank employee stalled and police were alerted, and police then reached the daughter, who confirmed being at home and safe. The newspaper says none of the wired money had been recovered when the article was published. The man says it took days to start feeling normal again. The report rests on the man's account, a bank employee's account and a police report quoted by the newspaper. The article gives the call date as Monday 23 March without a year. The record uses 2026 because 23 March fell on a Monday only in 2026 among the years 2023 to 2026. The range starts at 2023 because the article says the Federal Trade Commission began warning about AI voice-copy scams as early as 2023, and it ends at 2026 because the article was published on 8 May 2026.
Core concern Medium reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026
Jul 2026Hong Kong SAR ChinaUnidentified voice-cloning tool (suspected)
Hong Kong police said on their CyberDefender social media page, reported on 29 July 2026, that a victim received a WhatsApp voice message from the victim's father's hijacked account asking for an urgent transfer of HK$1 million to a friend. The voice and manner of speech were very similar to the father's, and the victim made the transfer, then a further HK$2 million requested the same way, then payments to several bank accounts on different pretexts, until the savings account was empty. The victim realised the fraud only after police made contact, with a reported total loss of more than HK$10 million. Police said scammers in WhatsApp hijackings may use AI to fake the voices of people close to the victim, and outlets that published reports on 30 and 31 August 2026 of a police briefing described the case as one involving a deepfake voice message imitating the father, while one outlet said the deepfake use was suspected. No source reports analysis of the audio. The loss and the voice characterisation rest on police statements relayed by outlets, and the month of July 2026 rests on one outlet.
Core concern High reported severity
AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 7 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026
Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified video tool
AFP reported on 3 July 2026 that a Filipino domestic worker, who asked that a real name and age be withheld, met a scammer posing as a Dubai prince on a dating site and then took part in WhatsApp video calls in which the scammer appeared on screen as the prince. AFP described the suitor as an AI deepfake, said it saw a recording of one call in which the voice did not match the prince's voice, and said it was unclear which AI tools were used. The worker paid 100,000 pesos (about US$1,625) for a supposed marriage certificate and 'royal membership card' that would help secure a job in Dubai, and AFP said the worker lost a year's worth of savings. When the scammer then asked for a further 60,000 pesos for a hotel booking, the worker became suspicious, noticed that the Facebook account was based in Nigeria, and ended contact. The account rests on one AFP interview carried by other outlets. The dates of the events are not stated.
Core concern Medium reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026
Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified image and video tool
The Daily Echo (29 June 2025), the Daily Mail (1 July 2025), and The Sun and the New York Post (2 July 2025) reported that a Southampton resident said the resident had been 'relentlessly' sent AI-generated or doctored celebrity images and videos on Facebook for about five months, with a fake prize certificate and requests for an activation fee to unlock a prize of £500,000 and a car. The resident said one persona presented as a celebrity said she loved the resident and asked for money, and that the resident paid £200 in Apple gift cards. The resident also said the messages were affecting the resident's mental health and said an acquaintance had lost over £1,000 to the same kind of scam (second-hand, not counted here). A University of Southampton AI expert described the messages as a phishing scam using an AI-generated prize certificate. All outlets rest on the resident's own account, and none reports verifying the messages. The start date is not established.
Core concern Low reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026
Mar 2025Event location unknownUnidentified video tool
Economist David Rosenberg told The Globe and Mail (18 June 2025) that ads on Facebook and Instagram since March 2025 promoted a fake investment program listing him as its administrator and redirected people to a WhatsApp group. The Globe reported that one investor interviewed estimated losing $16,000, another said she lost $500,000 in a week, and a third alleged losing $450,000 in life savings. Rosenberg told BNN Bloomberg on 7 July 2025 that the scammers used a fake AI voice and video of him, and a Globe column of 17 July 2025 described a deepfake video advert. Losses are self-reported and unverified. The AI characterisation comes from Rosenberg and a July Globe column, and the June Globe article on the investors does not mention AI. A Toronto police detective said no victim had reported to police.
Core concern Medium reported severity
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 3 underlying accounts · Added 29/09/2026
Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified voice-cloning tool (suspected)
In a 4 February 2025 report by Hi-Line Today, the owner of a game and coffee store in a Havre shopping mall said an employee received a call on a personal phone that appeared to come from the employee's own number and carried what the employee described as the owner's voice. The owner said the scammers had also duplicated the owner's number. The article says the store reported that the scam compromised bank details and caused monetary losses; the owner said the employee was not blamed. The reporter describes the scam as using AI voice replication. The only support for a cloned voice is the employee's claim, relayed by the owner.
Core concern Low reported severity
AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 29/09/2026
2025United StatesUnidentified AI tool
A retired couple in Gwinnett County, Georgia, told FOX 5 Atlanta and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June 2025 that they had lost about $800,000 ($802,000 per the AJC), their life savings, in a cryptocurrency scam that began when a stranger contacted the husband on WhatsApp and encouraged him to trade through a mobile app. He traded and withdrew small amounts before investing more, and discovered the fraud when he could not withdraw and called 911. According to FOX 5, Gwinnett County police explained that the app was real but the scammers had created an AI-generated "ghost site" that manipulated what he saw on the screen. The 74-year-old said he felt sick and ashamed; the couple's children started a fundraiser for day-to-day expenses, and police said such funds are rarely recovered.
AI relation unknown High reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources · Added 29/09/2026
Feb 2022 to Mar 2026United StatesGoogle AI Overviews (reported)
Federal prosecutors in Oregon have charged two men with wire fraud and conspiracy over an alleged romance-investment scheme that investigators say defrauded 26 women met mostly through dating apps, from at least February 2022 until at least March 2026; the Los Angeles Times, citing the U.S. Attorney's Office, puts the total at $1.3 million across four states. With some victims, the main accused posed as a San Francisco 49ers player. The FBI affidavit says that some victims became suspicious and searched for him online, and that because of his false social media posts, 'search engines and artificial intelligence occasionally stated' that he was a bona fide 49ers player. The Los Angeles Times describes an Instagram Story in which he displayed a screenshot of a Google AI Overview calling him a 49ers wide receiver and said, 'That's Google. That's not me, that's Google.' The 49ers and the NFL told investigators he was never employed by either. The charges are allegations; the sources do not say how many victims saw an AI-generated answer or how much it weighed in their decisions.
Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 29/09/2026
Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified video tool
Journalist Nahuel Saa (La Criti) reported in September 2026 that the 79-year-old telenovela actor Jorge Martínez, who was saving a sum in dollars, had fallen for two consecutive online scams. In the first, he became interested in a supposed investment platform that used fake videos of Lionel Messi and Javier Milei created with artificial intelligence, transferred money, and received calls for about two weeks showing growing interest. When the callers asked where to send 19,300 pesos of 'interest', he gave his bank account, and that afternoon his four accounts had been emptied. He noted that the callers' numbers were from Spain and England. Soon after, callers posing as Temu promised him a 500,000-peso loyalty bonus, asked for his account, and took the 1,400 dollars he had deposited; no AI element is reported in that second scam.
AI relation unknown Medium reported severity Media Coverage
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026
10 Jul 2026 to 22 Jul 2026IndiaUnidentified video tool
According to an FIR reported by Deccan Herald, a 39-year-old resident of Mahalakshmi Layout, Bengaluru, saw videos on Facebook on 10 July 2026 that appeared to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Sudha Murty and Anant Ambani promoting online investments. Believing them genuine, he clicked a link, paid Rs 22,000, and was then called from UK (+44) numbers by people claiming to represent a company called 'One Two Markets', who opened a forex account in his name. Between 10 and 22 July he transferred about Rs 7.6 lakh in several payments; when he tried to withdraw, the callers demanded more money. He went to the police and an FIR was registered on 19 September; a probe is under way. Deccan Herald calls the videos deepfakes; no technical examination of them is reported.
AI relation unknown Medium reported severity Investigation Opened
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 27/09/2026
Event date unknownBrazilUnidentified facial recognition system
The Espírito Santo Civil Police (Defa, the fraud and forgery unit) said a 27-year-old man was arrested on a warrant in Serra on 22 September 2026, suspected of defrauding a personal trainer of more than R$100,000. According to the police, the suspect offered a car in exchange for the victim's motorcycle; during the negotiation he persuaded the victim to perform a facial-recognition procedure, saying it was needed to transfer the car's ownership; the biometric was later used to contract a vehicle financing in the victim's name without his authorisation, and weeks after the exchange the victim discovered that the car he had received did not belong to the suspect and was a rental. The loss, combining the motorcycle and the fraudulently contracted financing, exceeded R$100,000. The suspect, who police say had been arrested in São Paulo in July 2025 in a 'love scam' case, was taken to the Centro de Triagem at the Rodrigo Figueiredo da Rosa prison complex and remains at the disposal of the courts. The financing provider and the facial-recognition system are not identified, and the reports do not say how the captured biometric was used to pass the financing.
Contextual tracker case Medium reported severity Criminal Charges
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 26/09/2026
Event date unknownUnited KingdomUnidentified video tool
Surrey Live reported on 22 September 2026 that a 72-year-old Guildford pensioner, who asked to remain anonymous, lost 40,000 pounds to an investment scam that used a deepfake video of Nigel Farage. The apparently AI-generated clip showed the Reform UK leader angrily challenging Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey in front of a fake BBC Question Time backdrop, and viewers were directed to a supposed news article promising large returns for small investments. Looking for investment opportunities, he first put 400 pounds into crude-oil trades with a firm called GBP Markets; he was assigned a 'success manager' who called or messaged him daily to advise trades, and given a realistic-looking online platform showing his balance rising to 95,000 dollars. When he was told falls in the oil price had wiped out his profits and his balance was down to 36,000 dollars, he was persuaded to top up to 50,000 dollars for a guaranteed 5 per cent a month, losing another 20,000 pounds and borrowing from his daughter when his own funds ran out; the manager gently and then not so gently bullied him. Two requests to withdraw money were ignored. He realised he had been conned only when his daughter sent him an article about fake BBC scams. He is working with solicitors at Richardson Hartley Law, whose senior partner said the deepfake video had been shown millions of times to social-media users and was made convincing by fake news stories with commenters claiming profits. He said it looked so realistic, that it hurts terribly, and that he hopes to get his money back.
AI relation unknown Medium reported severity Media Coverage
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 1 source · Added 23/09/2026
11 Nov 2024SpainUnidentified image and video tool
A feature carried by Levante-EMV on 25 September 2025 (byline C. Suena, sourced from Diario Información, photographs EFE/Morell) tells the story of a 78-year-old widower and pensioner living in Alicante who, after his wife's death in 2022 and two years of treatment for depression, was advised by his therapists to socialise and explore social networks. On 11 November 2024 he received an email from a woman presenting herself as a 43-year-old doctor in Kazakhstan seeking a serious relationship; with photographs and videos that were in fact created by artificial intelligence she won his trust, and a friend who warned him was rebuffed. Requests for money followed: 2,000 euros for a plane ticket, another 2,000 for unexpected expenses, then a supposed 10,000-euro deposit demanded by the Kazakh government; he never raised that sum in full but sent 8,800 euros in total, part of it from the sale of his flat in Benidorm. On his way to Madrid airport to meet her he received a final email saying she had been detained for carrying a family icon out of the country and needed a fine paid; he went to the National Police, who confirmed a scam: the images and videos were fake, created with AI, and the woman had never existed. He lost all his savings in about three months and now shares a flat with three other pensioners in Alicante; he told his story so that others would not fall into the same trap.
AI relation unknown Medium reported severity Media Coverage
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 1 source · Added 23/09/2026