GCD AI RADAR
incidents/AIR-2025-0142

Owen Wilson Deepfake Video Used in Romance and Job Scam

AI-enabled attack3 Confirmed exploitationDeepfake fraud

Scammers utilised an AI-generated deepfake video impersonating actor Owen Wilson to groom a victim into a fake employment and romance scheme. The deceptive video served as false proof of authenticity across messaging apps.

Details

type
AI-enabled attack
Attackers used AI as a meaningful part of a cyberattack against someone else.
categories
  • Deepfake fraud
    Synthetic voice, video or images used to impersonate people for fraud, extortion or access.
owasp llm top 10
no entry for these categories
mitre atlas
Both rows are derived from the type and categories (OWASP 2025 edition, ATLAS release 2026.09), not classified per record. How
severity
3 · Confirmed exploitation
Used against real targets; limited or unclear impact.
targets
Individuals
products
WhatsApp, Cash App
incident date
16 May 2025
first reported
16 May 2025
origin
AI Incident Database
Derived from the AI Incident Database (CC BY-SA 4.0).
classifier confidence
0.85 · published at or above 0.80; see the methodology
tags
deepfake · romance-scam · impersonation · fraud
record
created 2026-10-18 06:33Z · updated 2026-10-18 06:59Z · json

Sources · 1

  1. 2025-05-16
    Reported Use of Deepfake Video Impersonating Owen Wilson in Romance Scam with Fake Job Payments
    AI Incident Database · incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1126

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