Cases › other › LR-2026-0158

AI-morphed obscene image used to blackmail 19-year-old in Mangaluru

Severity moderate: Scammers cheated the victim of ₹5.24 lakh by threatening to circulate an AI-morphed obscene image of him.

Earliest source we hold 2026-10-11

Scammers used AI to manipulate a photograph of a 19-year-old man in Mangaluru, Karnataka, creating an obscene image of him. They then cheated him of ₹5.24 lakh by threatening to circulate it on social media. The source describes such images as morphed photographs and presents the case as an example of the 'morphed photo-video scam', in which fraudsters lift people's photographs, create fake obscene content and blackmail them by threatening to defame them.

Risk grouping: AI used to exploit

Who caused it	A person or organisation “Scammers used AI to manipulate a photograph of a 19-year-old man and create an obscene image of him.” source
Intended or not	Intended “They then cheated him of ₹5.24 lakh by threatening to circulate it on social media.” source
The AI's part	Used as a tool “Scammers used AI to manipulate a photograph of a 19-year-old man and create an obscene image of him.” source

No source we hold states: before or after release.

The story

1 · What it was doingScammers used AI editing and deepfake techniques to lift a 19-year-old man's photograph and create a fake obscene image of him, then used it to blackmail him.

2 · What went wrongThe fabricated obscene image was used to extort money, breaching the man's privacy and defaming him through threats to circulate it on social media.

3 · What it reached or didThe image and the threats reached the victim directly; the scammers threatened to circulate the obscene image on social media, and took ₹5.24 lakh from him.

No source states: {'q': 'timing', 'value': None, 'quote': None, 'url': None}.

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What happened

Earliest source we hold

2026-10-11

A the date the source itself carries

Themes

deepfake, sextortion, blackmail, AI generated media