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AII-1002-65461
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AI deepfake video used in employee fraud scam

A Tianjin employee was defrauded of 950,000 yuan by a scammer using AI deepfake video technology to impersonate his company leader during a video call. Police recovered 830,000 yuan by freezing bank accounts after the employee reported the fraud.

7 February 2025 Β· Tianjin Hongqiao Police Β· Fraud, scams and manipulation
7 February 2025
AII-1002-65461
Quick facts
Category
Fraud, scams and manipulation
Country
China
Date
7 February 2025
Drafted by
Raidu Incident Detection

What happened

A Tianjin employee received a text message purporting to be from his workplace leader requesting to add him on social media for an urgent discussion. After accepting the contact request, the imposter claimed to need funds for urgent business matters and requested the employee transfer money, promising repayment.

The imposter initiated a video call during which the employee saw what appeared to be his leader, created using AI deepfake technology. The employee transferred 950,000 yuan across three transactions. Later, when discussing the matter with a friend, the employee became suspicious and reported the fraud to police.

Reported impact

The employee lost 950,000 yuan. Police worked with banks to freeze 830,000 yuan of the defrauded funds through emergency payment stoppage on three bank cards.

Governance controls

Tianjin Hongqiao Police activated a coordination mechanism with banks to implement emergency payment freezes, successfully recovering 830,000 yuan of the 950,000 yuan defrauded.

Classification

Category
Fraud, scams and manipulation
Industry
Financial and insurance services
Country
China
Harm status
Actual harm
Intent
Intentional
Timing
Unknown
Harm types
Economic or property
Harmed
Workers
Failure modes
Deepfake video, Manipulation or dark pattern
Consequences
Police investigation
AI systems
AI deepfake video system, Voice cloning system

Sources and evidence

Sources not yet published

This record was researched and written by the Index from original reporting. Its sources are still being verified by an editor, and they are listed here once that check is complete. Until then the record carries no reviewer.

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