wire / 2026-08-13-c885
French scammers used AI images to fake a fundraiser for families of firefighters killed in Merignac
Grief fundraisers now ship with AI-rendered mourners. The Merignac firefighters' families were the pretext this round.
The facts
Scammers in France used AI-generated images to create a fake online fundraising campaign, falsely claiming to support families of firefighters who died in Mérignac. The AI-manipulated images were central to the deception, causing financial and emotional harm before the scam was detected and blocked.