Dec 2025when the FBI warned of AI-altered social media photos used as fake proof of life
In December 2025 the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center warned that virtual kidnapping scammers now send AI-altered photos lifted from a family's own social media as fake proof a relative has been kidnapped.
The altered images often carry visible flaws, a missing tattoo or scar, or distorted body proportions, and are sometimes sent through a timed messaging feature to limit how long a victim has to look closely.
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Read more: virtual kidnapping scam