DeepfakeHigh
Bolivian Criminal Network Allegedly Used Deepfake of Education Minister to Defraud at Least 19 Victims in Employment Scam
- Occurred
- Feb 10, 2025
- Published
- Feb 10, 2025
- Source
- AI Incident Database
Summary
A Bolivian criminal network allegedly used AI-generated deepfake audio of Education Minister Omar Véliz Ramos to impersonate him in phone calls, defrauding at least 19 victims in a fake job scheme. Scammers reportedly lured applicants via social media, used cloned voices for credibility, and demanded payment via QR codes. Authorities uncovered the scheme, seizing devices and arresting multiple suspects, including one orchestrating the fraud from prison. Losses reportedly exceed $720,000 USD.
Developers
- Synthetic audio generation technology developers
- Deepfake technology developers
Deployers
- Vilma C.C.
- Scammers impersonating Omar Véliz Ramos
- Scammers
- Mariana A.S.
- Luis G.C.
- Jackelin A.M.
- Alfredo Ch. S.
Harmed parties
- Unnamed Servicio Departamental de Salud (SEDES) Potosí official
- Omar Véliz Ramos
- Ministry of Education of Bolivia
- General public of Bolivia
- At least 19 Bolivian citizens seeking employment
- Targets of fraudulent professional opportunities
Tags
- Financial fraud
- Deepfake scam
- Voice cloning scam
- Criminal network
- Employment scam
- Fraud
- Bolivia
- Impersonation scam
- Government impersonation scam
Classification
Category confidence: 95%
Severity confidence: 90%
Rationale: Deepfake audio used in fraud causing significant financial loss and arrests.
Classifier: Qwen/Qwen3.5-35B-A3B-FP8