AI-Generated Video Used in Religious Charity Scam in Taiwan
Scammers created a fake Facebook page impersonating a Taiwanese temple and used AI-generated video of a temple secretary to fraudulently solicit donations for "blessing packages," claiming proceeds would go to the temple and affiliated charity. The temple and charity reported the fraud to police.
What happened
A fraudulent Facebook page named '白沙屯廟街文創' was created shortly after the Baisha Mazu pilgrimage event ended on May 1, 2026. The page used AI-generated video showing a temple secretary promoting 'blessing packages' for sale, claiming proceeds would be donated to Baisha Gongtian Temple and the affiliated Baisha Mazu Charity Development Association.
The temple and charity organization issued a joint statement clarifying they had not authorized any such activity and reported the fraud to police for investigation.
Reported impact
The temple founder Liu Bao-lian stated that fraudsters exploited believers' faith and goodwill, causing harm that extended beyond financial loss to damaging religious credibility and undermining social trust. The deception was described as 'trampling on faith' and 'extremely despicable and contemptible.'
Index analysis
Taiwan's Criminal Bureau noted that since March 2026, fraud cases involving 'Mazu' temple-related matters had shown a marked increase. The bureau cited examples of other Baisha Mazu-related scams, including fake giveaways of 'Baisha Mazu bracelets' and fraudulent sales of 'Baisha Mazu jackets' that used phishing links and impersonation of bank customer service to extract bank cards and credentials from victims.
Governance controls
The Criminal Bureau advised the public to use only official e-commerce platforms for online purchases and warned that requests to surrender financial cards, credit cards, or use ATM/online banking to 'remove permissions' or 'verify identity' are signs of fraud.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.