Brazilian police recently arrested 35 people in connection with an elaborate scam that involved selling people AI-created prayers for an average of $10 per prayer.
The scam ring operated out of Nilópolis , in Brazil’s Baixada Fluminense region, for two years before finally being brought down by police. Its members ran a sort of call center that contacted Catholics via phone, tried to learn as much about them as possible, and then sold them AI-generated personalized prayers capable of curing illnesses and improving lives for around 50 reais ($10). Some of the victims were so impressed by the prayers they heard that they paid for several others after that. Many people, moved by what they believed to be a spiritual gesture, paid larger sums, convinced they were receiving supernatural help.
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Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve the lives of billions of people around the world, but in the wrong hands, it can cause a lot of problems. In this case, an AI agent helped the scammers manipulate hundreds, if not thousands, of victims by churning out moving prayers that they sold to their victims. The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro believes that the scammers have been operating for at least a couple of years.
The gang recruited its victims through social media, where a “pastor,” identified as the group’s leader, posted motivational messages and invited users to contact him to receive a “miracle” or a “divine revelation.” Once the victims were “on the hook,” the call center operators continued the deception over the phone, trying to sell them miraculous prayers capable of saving their lives.
Photo: Globo
The 35 suspects in this case have been charged with fraud and criminal conspiracy, but the police have requested that victims continue to report to the Nilópolis Police Station to formalize their complaints in order to build a stronger case.
After analyzing the scammmers’ modus operandi, the police credited the longstanding success of the operation to the evolving AI, which adapted to each of its interlocutors and each situation, and ultimately delivered impressive texts.
