Dutch government to refund over 10,000 students over discriminatory DUO fraud algorithm
The Dutch government has pledged to refund over 10,000 students who were unjustly flagged for student finance fraud by a discriminatory algorithm used by the Education Executive Agency (DUO). The algorithm, implemented in 2012, used criteria that disproportionately targeted students from immigrant backgrounds, particularly those of Turkish and Moroccan descent. Following investigations by the Dutch Data Protection Authority and an independent report by PwC, the algorithm was suspended in July 2023 and replaced with a random-sampling system. The government has allocated 61 million euro for refunds.
- Company involved
- Education Executive Agency (DUO)
- AI system involved
- DUO fraud detection system
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs used secret algorithm to score visa applicants based on nationality
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs used a secret algorithm called IOB to score short-stay visa applicants based on nationality, gender, and age. Applicants flagged as high risk were automatically moved to an intensive track with higher rejection rates and delays. The ministry's own data protection officer warned of potential ethnic discrimination, but the system continued to be used. The algorithm has profiled millions of applicants since 2015.
- Company involved
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- AI system involved
- IOB
10 source articles · read the reporting →
iBorderCtrl lie detector falsely flagged honest reporter as liar
A journalist testing Europe's iBorderCtrl virtual policeman at the Serbian-Hungarian border gave honest answers but was deemed a liar by the system, scoring 48 out of 100 with four false answers flagged. The Hungarian policeman said the result suggested further checks, though none were carried out. The reporter only learned of the result after filing a data access request under European privacy laws. Experts and transparency activists have criticised the technology as pseudoscientific and potentially discriminatory.
- Company involved
- iBorderCtrl consortium
- AI system involved
- Silent Talker / iBorderCtrl virtual policeman
10 source articles · read the reporting →
DWP algorithm mistakenly flags 200,000 Housing Benefit claimants for fraud review
The UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uses an algorithm to flag Housing Benefit claimants for possible fraud or error. According to a Big Brother Watch investigation, the algorithm has mistakenly flagged 200,000 innocent people, subjecting them to intrusive reviews. Only one in three flagged cases actually had errors, compared to two in three during the pilot. The DWP has spent £4.4 million on these pointless checks.
- Company involved
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
6 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 →
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 →
Dutch DPA fines Clearview AI €30.5 million for GDPR violations
The Dutch Data Protection Authority fined Clearview AI €30.5 million for creating an illegal database of biometric codes scraped from social media without consent. The regulator accused the company of failing to inform individuals about how their data is used and continuing violations after investigation. Clearview AI denies the allegations, stating it has no presence in the Netherlands or EU and that the fine is unenforceable.
- Company involved
- Clearview AI
- AI system involved
- Clearview AI facial recognition database
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Dutch probation service's OXREC algorithm flawed, leading to incorrect recidivism risk assessments
The Dutch Inspectorate of Justice and Security (Inspectie JenV) published a report finding that the probation service's (Reclassering) OXREC algorithm contains serious flaws, including swapped formulas and incorrect numbers, causing about a quarter of risk assessments to be wrong. The algorithm, used since 2018 for about 44,000 cases per year, also uses variables that can lead to discrimination, such as neighborhood score and income. The Inspectorate recommended immediate correction or temporary suspension. The probation service announced it would temporarily stop using OXREC.
- Company involved
- Reclassering Nederland
- AI system involved
- OXREC
4 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 →
Citizens Advice finds ethnicity penalty in car insurance pricing
Citizens Advice conducted exploratory research into car insurance pricing and found that people of colour may be paying £250 more per year than White people. The research suggests that areas with large communities of colour may be identified as more risky by algorithms, even when objective risk factors are controlled. Citizens Advice has called on the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate the issue.
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Singapore Firm Defrauded of $499K in Deepfake CEO Video Call Scam
In March 2025, a finance director at a multinational firm in Singapore authorised a US$499,000 payment during a Zoom call that appeared to include the company's CFO and other executives. The call was a deepfake, with AI-generated likenesses and voices. The fraudsters used the impersonation to request an urgent fund transfer for a purported acquisition. The company later discovered the deception and reported it to Singapore police.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
TransUnion AI tenant screening denied 75-year-old man apartment due to mistaken littering conviction
Chris Robinson, then 75, applied for a senior living apartment in California. The property manager used an AI screening program from TransUnion, which assigned him a low score based on a mistaken conviction for littering that belonged to a different person with the same name in Texas. Robinson lost the apartment and his application fee. A federal class-action lawsuit against TransUnion moved toward a $11.5 million settlement in 2023.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Security Health Plan used AI to cut off nursing home care for 85-year-old woman
Frances Walter, an 85-year-old woman with a shattered shoulder, had her nursing home care payment cut off by Security Health Plan after an algorithm predicted she would recover in 16.6 days. The algorithm, nH Predict from NaviHealth, did not account for her severe pain and allergy to pain medicine. She was forced to spend her life savings and enroll in Medicaid while fighting the denial. A federal judge later ruled the denial was speculative and she was owed thousands of dollars.
- Company involved
- Security Health Plan
- AI system involved
- nH Predict
1 source article · read the reporting →
Insurer drops California homeowner after aerial photo analysis
Cindy Picos was dropped by her home insurer after the company used aerial photos to assess her roof. The insurer refused to let her see the photos, and she believes her roof is in fine shape. The incident highlights the growing use of drones and aerial imagery by insurers to inspect properties without in-person visits.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Kmart's facial recognition system for refund fraud found unlawful by Privacy Commissioner
Kmart Australia deployed facial recognition technology in 28 stores from June 2020 to July 2022, capturing biometric data of every customer entering the stores and those at returns counters to detect refund fraud. The system collected sensitive information without notifying customers or obtaining their consent. The Australian Privacy Commissioner found that Kmart breached the Privacy Act, as the exemption for unlawful activity did not justify the indiscriminate and disproportionate collection of biometric data from thousands of individuals. Kmart has ceased using the system and cooperated with the investigation.
- Company involved
- Kmart Australia Limited
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Bank of America Customer Targeted by AI Voice Deepfake Scam
Clive Kabatznik, a Florida investor, was targeted by scammers who used AI-generated voice deepfakes to impersonate him in calls to his Bank of America representative. The fraudsters attempted to trick the banker into transferring money, but the banker became suspicious and hung up. The bank reported the incident to its security team, and it took about 10 days for Mr. Kabatznik to re-establish contact with his banker. The incident highlights the growing threat of voice deepfakes in financial scams.
- Company involved
- Bank of America
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Arizona Unemployment Applicants Required to Submit Facial Recognition
People applying for unemployment benefits in Arizona must verify their identity via facial recognition software provided by ID.me. If the system fails to match a selfie to a photo ID, applicants can be denied benefits unless they successfully complete a video chat with a referee. A class-action lawsuit filed in June 2021 alleges that the practice violates due process rights and discriminates against people of colour.
- Company involved
- Arizona Department of Economic Security
- AI system involved
- ID.me
1 source article · read the reporting →
State Farm accused of algorithmic bias against Black homeowners
A class action lawsuit filed in Chicago alleges State Farm's automated claims processing system discriminates against Black policyholders. The suit claims Black customers are more likely to face additional paperwork and longer waits for claim approval than white customers, citing data from 800 homeowners. State Farm has stated it takes the filing seriously and is committed to fair treatment, while the plaintiffs seek to enjoin the current system and require audits.
- Company involved
- State Farm
- AI system involved
- automated claims processing system
2 source articles · read the reporting →
OpenClaw vulnerabilities enable data leakage and prompt injection
In January 2026, researchers at Giskard exploited a deployment of OpenClaw, an open-source agentic AI. They found that architectural weaknesses in the Control UI and session management allowed prompt injection and unauthorized tool use, leading to potential data leakage across user sessions. The article outlines hardening steps to prevent such vulnerabilities.
- AI system involved
- OpenClaw
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Herbert Brooks v. Lowes Home Centers LLC (W.D. Louisiana): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Monetary Sanction; CLE
Generated a legal brief with hallucinated case law, filed in court.
- AI system involved
- Claude
1 source article · read the reporting →
CommNV vs Uprise (Nevada DC): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Monetary Penalty OR Order to volunteer and teach about AI…
The AI system generated fabricated legal citations that were included in a court filing, misleading the court and opposing counsel.
- Company involved
- Christopher Day
1 source article · read the reporting →
Italian bank (Fideuram / Intesa Sanpaolo) loses about 95 million euro to AI voice-clone scam
The AI-generated voice deceived the chairman into authorizing transfers of about 95 million euros.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Mr Craig Hadley wrongly accused of fraud at Sports Direct shop using Facewatch facial recognition.
Mr Craig Hadley was wrongly accused of being a fraudster at a Rotherham Sports Direct shop using facial recognition technology supplied by Facewatch. The system flagged him as a known fraudster, but the alert was later attributed to human error. Big Brother Watch, a privacy campaign group, has raised concerns about the lack of due process in such systems.
- Company involved
- Sports Direct
- AI system involved
- Facewatch
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Allegheny County child neglect screening algorithm shows racial disparities
The Allegheny Family Screening Tool, an algorithm used to screen child neglect reports, has been found to flag a disproportionate number of Black children for mandatory investigation compared to white children. A technical glitch also presented wrong risk scores for over two years. County officials say social workers can override the algorithm and that the glitch has been fixed, but critics argue the tool hardens racial disparities and lacks transparency.
- Company involved
- Allegheny County Department of Human Services
- AI system involved
- Allegheny Family Screening Tool
10 source articles · read the reporting →
