Fraud gang impersonating celebrities captured
A gang that used artificial intelligence technology to mimic the voices and images of celebrities to defraud people of large sums of money has been dismantled in a police operation. It was determined that approximately 500 million dollars in illicit gains obtained by the gang were transferred to a cryptocurrency account in Cambodia.
12punto
With the development of artificial intelligence technologies in recent years, fraudsters have begun to abuse these innovations to impersonate famous figures. Through fake videos spread on social media platforms, the impression was created that well-known names from the worlds of economy and politics were providing investment advice. The gang, which obtained hundreds of millions of liras in illicit gains through this method, victimized many people.
Baykar Chairman of the Board Selçuk Bayraktar reacted to the situation, stating that his company is not publicly traded and does not provide investment advice. Similarly, Güler Sabancı, who was also targeted by the fraudsters, announced that she has initiated legal proceedings against such content.
In Istanbul-based operations, simultaneous raids were carried out in 28 provinces with the cooperation of police and intelligence units, and 72 suspects were taken into custody. Investigations revealed that the gang generated illegal income through 41 different shell companies and transferred these funds to a Cambodia-based cryptocurrency exchange.