NBI raids Makati love scam facility using AI-generated fake female profiles
The National Bureau of Investigation raided a Makati condominium believed to be a love-scam facility, arresting about 100 suspects. The scammers used AI-generated conversations and fake profile pictures of women to trick victims into investing in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. Singaporean actor Laurence Pang said he lost S$35,000 after being deceived by such a scheme via the dating site PinaLove in late 2024; the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group confirmed he was a victim. The NBI continues to interrogate a Chinese national said to be the supervisor.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Queensland police trial AI to predict domestic violence risk
The Queensland Police Service is trialling an AI risk-assessment tool to identify high-risk domestic violence offenders from police records. Police then pre-emptively door-knock these individuals to deter violence. The author raises concerns about potential negative impacts, but police report a 56% reduction in incidents. The AI was developed in-house to increase transparency.
- Company involved
- Queensland Police Service
9 source articles · read the reporting →
OpenDream AI art site allowed users to generate child sexual abuse material
OpenDream, an AI image generation platform, allowed users to generate and publicly display child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and non-consensual deepfakes from at least December 2023 until July 2024. The platform, operated by CBM Media Pte Ltd in Singapore, offered paid plans with NSFW prompts and models. Bellingcat reported the site to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. After Bellingcat's inquiry, the CSAM was removed from the site and search engines, and Google terminated OpenDream's AdSense account.
- Company involved
- CBM Media Pte Ltd
- AI system involved
- OpenDream
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Audit of RisCanvi finds biases and reliability issues in criminal justice system
Eticas conducted an adversarial audit of RisCanvi, an AI risk assessment tool used in Catalonia's criminal justice system. The audit uncovered biases in risk classifications against specific demographics and significant reliability issues. The findings call for fairer practices in criminal justice AI.
- Company involved
- Catalonia's criminal justice system
- AI system involved
- RisCanvi
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Outabox hack exposes biometric data of patrons at bars, clubs and casinos
Hackers claiming to be former employees published a website allowing searches of Outabox's facial recognition database, exposing biometric and other sensitive data of patrons used for age verification at bars, clubs and casinos. The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project warns that the breach demonstrates the danger of facial recognition for age verification. S.T.O.P. has launched a campaign to ban facial recognition in public accommodations.
- Company involved
- Outabox
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Vumacam's AI CCTV system flagged 28 black people as suspicious in Johannesburg suburbs
In Johannesburg suburbs, Vumacam's AI-powered CCTV network using iSentry software flagged 28 black individuals as 'suspicious' in a shift report, according to a 2019 article. The system, deployed by private security firms, uses video analytics to detect abnormal behavior and alerts security guards. The article alleges that the system disproportionately targets people of color, reflecting racial bias in a racially divided country.
- Company involved
- Vumacam
- AI system involved
- iSentry
6 source articles · read the reporting →
FBI charges man for creating AI chatbots to harass university professor
A university professor in Massachusetts was harassed online for years, including through the creation of AI chatbots that impersonated her. The chatbots were programmed with her personal information and encouraged users to contact her. The FBI arrested James Florence Jr. on charges of cyberstalking in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2261A(2).
5 source articles · read the reporting →
42,900 OpenClaw AI agents exposed, 15,200 vulnerable to RCE
SecurityScorecard's STRIKE team revealed on February 9, 2026, that approximately 42,900 OpenClaw agentic AI instances are exposed on the internet due to insecure default configurations. Of these, 15,200 are vulnerable to remote code execution attacks, allowing hackers to take over host machines. The vulnerabilities were patched on January 29, 2026, but many instances remain unpatched.
- AI system involved
- OpenClaw
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Buenos Aires city government uses live facial recognition to track minors in criminal database
The Buenos Aires city government deployed a live facial recognition system in April 2019 that scans subway passengers and matches them against CONARC, a national database of alleged offenders. Human Rights Watch found that the database includes at least 166 children, some as young as one to three years old, and that the system has led to numerous false arrests. The system was implemented without public consultation, and there is no mechanism to correct mistakes. A civil rights organization filed a lawsuit, and the government is pushing a bill to legalize the technology.
- Company involved
- Buenos Aires city government
1 source article · read the reporting →
Palantir secretly tested predictive policing in New Orleans
Beginning in 2012, Palantir Technologies secretly partnered with the New Orleans Police Department to deploy a predictive policing system. The programme analysed gang affiliations, social media and criminal histories to forecast individuals’ likelihood of committing or becoming victims of violence, operating without public knowledge or city council oversight. Researchers and law enforcement officials raised concerns about systemic bias and civil liberties. As of 2018, the city and Palantir had not disclosed the programme’s status.
- Company involved
- New Orleans Police Department
1 source article · read the reporting →
Pasco Sheriff's Office used algorithm to target potential future criminals and schoolchildren
The Pasco Sheriff's Office operates an intelligence-led policing programme that uses an algorithm to identify people who might break the law based on criminal histories and social networks. Deputies are sent to the homes of those flagged, even without evidence of a crime, and former deputies allege they were ordered to make targets' lives miserable. The agency also keeps a list of more than 400 schoolchildren predicted to 'fall into a life of crime', built from data such as grades and child welfare records, without informing the children or their parents. Civil liberties groups are considering lawsuits and public advocacy campaigns, and experts have called the programmes 'morally repugnant'.
- Company involved
- Pasco Sheriff's Office
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Clearview AI facial recognition app scrapes billions of images and is used by police
Clearview AI, a secretive start-up, built a facial recognition app that matches photos to a database of more than three billion images scraped from social media and websites. More than 600 law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, have used the tool to identify suspects in crimes such as shoplifting, identity theft and murder. The company monitored officers who ran a reporter's photo through the app, and its founder acknowledged designing an augmented-reality prototype but said there were no plans to release it. Critics warned the tool could end anonymity and enable misuse.
- Company involved
- Clearview AI
- AI system involved
- Clearview AI facial recognition app
2 source articles · read the reporting →
AI-powered scam compound in Myanmar uses ChatGPT and Gemini to defraud thousands globally
Safeer Mohammed Koorimannil, trafficked to a scam compound in Tai Chang, Myanmar, was forced to use AI-powered software to impersonate a woman and deceive victims into sending money. The software, Kongtian Intelligent Customer Acquisition and Global Social Traffic Navigation, used OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini to generate messages and translate in over 100 languages. Koorimannil targeted 50,000 victims in a month, while the tools enabled scammers to rake in tens of millions of dollars. U.S. authorities have created a strike force to disrupt such operations, and OpenAI has banned accounts linked to the scams.
- Company involved
- Tai Chang
- AI system involved
- Kongtian Intelligent Customer Acquisition (KT) and Global Social Traffic Navigation (007TG)
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Spanish VioGén Algorithm Deems Woman Low Risk Before Fatal Domestic Violence
In January 2022, Lobna Hemid reported her husband's abuse to Spanish police. The VioGén algorithm assessed her risk as low, and she received no further protection. Seven weeks later, her husband fatally stabbed her. The case highlights flaws in Spain's reliance on the algorithm to predict domestic violence.
- Company involved
- Interior Ministry of Spain
- AI system involved
- VioGén
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Boone County Sheriff warns of AI voice impersonation scam
A Boone County resident received a phone call that appeared to be from their daughter's number, with an AI-generated voice claiming she had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom. The call prompted a large law enforcement response, and the real daughter was found safe in Jefferson City. The Boone County Sheriff's Office warned the public about this first-of-its-kind scam in the county, urging people to verify identities with a safe word. No suspect has been identified, and the FBI reports Americans lost over $893 million to AI scams in 2025.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
NYPD Facial Recognition Leads to Wrongful Arrest of Trevis Williams
In April 2025, Trevis Williams was arrested by the NYPD after a facial recognition program matched his mug shot to a suspect in a February flashing incident, despite an eight-inch height difference and alibi evidence. The victim identified him from the AI-suggested photo array. Mr. Williams spent over two days in jail before the case was dismissed in July. The incident highlights the risks of using facial recognition on low-quality surveillance images.
- Company involved
- New York Police Department
2 source articles · read the reporting →
West Midlands Police test NDAS system to assess crime risk
West Midlands Police are testing a system called the National Data Analytics Solution (NDAS) that analyses police data to assess the risk of individuals committing a crime or becoming a victim. The Home Office has funded the project with millions of pounds, intending to roll it out across England and Wales. Critics warn that the system could reinforce bias against minorities and undermine the presumption of innocence. The police say the technology is designed to support, not replace, officer decision-making and that it is still in early testing.
- Company involved
- West Midlands Police
- AI system involved
- National Data Analytics Solution
1 source article · read the reporting →
Privacy International challenges Clearview AI's facial recognition database in Europe
Privacy International filed complaints against Clearview AI with five European data protection authorities in May 2021, alleging that the company's scraping of facial images from the web and building a biometric database without consent violates data protection laws. The regulators in the UK, France, Italy, Greece, and Austria have since found Clearview's practices unlawful, imposed fines, and ordered deletion of data. Clearview has appealed the UK fine, and the case is ongoing.
- Company involved
- Clearview AI
- AI system involved
- Clearview
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Google Cloud Used in CBP AI Virtual Border Wall Contract
The Intercept reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection accepted a proposal to use Google Cloud artificial intelligence for its Innovation Team, including work with Anduril Industries' surveillance towers. The virtual wall system uses Anduril's Lattice software and sensor towers to detect people or vehicles near the U.S.-Mexico border and relay their locations to agents. Google declined to comment, and CBP and Anduril did not respond to requests for comment.
- Company involved
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- AI system involved
- Google Cloud AI Platform with Anduril Lattice and Sentry Towers
1 source article · read the reporting →
Las Vegas police used unsuitable facial recognition images in nearly half of searches
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) used 'non-suitable' probe images in 451 of 924 facial recognition searches in 2019, greatly increasing the risk of false identifications. The system, supplied by Vigilant Solutions, returned likely matches in only 18% of those searches, yet led to arrests in at least 73 cases. Critics and researchers warn this practice heightens the chance of wrongful arrests, and one defence attorney said he was never informed facial recognition was used to identify his client.
- Company involved
- Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
- AI system involved
- Vigilant Solutions facial recognition system
1 source article · read the reporting →
California AG declares out-of-state ALPR data sharing unlawful
California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued guidance confirming that sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with out-of-state or federal agencies violates state law SB 34. The decision follows years of advocacy by EFF and the ACLU, who demonstrated through public records that many California law enforcement agencies were sharing data with hundreds of external agencies, including ICE and CBP. The guidance mandates that all California agencies review their data sharing and cut off access to out-of-state and federal entities.
- Company involved
- California law enforcement agencies
- AI system involved
- Automated license plate readers (ALPRs)
1 source article · read the reporting →
Hacker steals Muah.ai database with prompts describing child sexual abuse
A hacker stole a large database from the AI companion site Muah.ai, containing users' interactions with their chatbots. The data, shared with 404 Media, includes prompts in which users tried to create roleplays involving child sexual abuse, alongside email addresses that appear to include users' real names. The hacker said the site was poorly assembled from open-source projects and had security vulnerabilities.
- Company involved
- Muah.ai
- AI system involved
- Muah.ai
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Clearview AI settles with ACLU over facial recognition database sales
Clearview AI has agreed to stop selling its facial recognition database to most private US companies as part of a proposed settlement with the ACLU. The company scraped billions of images from social media without consent to build its database, violating Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act. The settlement requires Clearview to delete old facial vectors and allow Illinois residents to opt out. The company can still sell its technology to law enforcement and government agencies.
- Company involved
- Clearview AI
- AI system involved
- Clearview AI facial recognition database
8 source articles · read the reporting →
True Crime Case Files YouTube channel exposed for AI-generated fake true crime stories
The YouTube channel True Crime Case Files, which launched in late 2023, gained millions of views with videos purporting to be true crime documentaries. An investigation by the Denver Post revealed that the stories, including one about a murder in Littleton, Colorado, were entirely fabricated and likely generated by AI. The channel did not disclose that the cases were not real, leading viewers to believe they were genuine. Experts warned that such AI-generated misinformation is a growing problem, with the channel potentially earning tens of thousands of dollars from the deceptive content.
- Company involved
- True Crime Case Files
- AI system involved
- True Crime Case Files
5 source articles · read the reporting →
