"Stole 10 Million Won with a Single Photo"...Chinese University Student Jailed for Forging Faces with AI

Cybercrime Controversy in China
Over KRW 10,460,000 Siphoned in Four Months

A controversy has arisen in China over a cybercrime case in which facial videos generated by artificial intelligence (AI) were used to siphon money from others' bank accounts.

According to China Central Television (CCTV) on the 17th, the Changsha People's Court in Hunan Province recently sentenced a university student surnamed Wu to prison for creating forged facial videos using AI technology and stealing more than 50,000 yuan (approximately KRW 10,460,000) from others’ bank cards over a four-month period.

A cybercrime incident has caused controversy in China, where artificial intelligence (AI)-generated facial videos were used to siphon money from others' bank accounts. AI-generated image.

Facing graduation, Wu turned to illegal cybercrime and illegally purchased a program capable of generating AI-based photos and videos that could pass authentication on a specific bank payment platform. He then recruited accomplices by posting advertisements on various chat platforms.

Wu joined illegal group chat rooms on overseas messengers, where he obtained victims’ names, ID numbers, mobile phone numbers, photos, and payment authentication codes, which he used in his scheme. He uploaded victims' photos to illegal websites, converted them into AI-generated images, and then bypassed bank authentication systems.

The criminal group impersonated short-form video platform or gaming company customer service agents, tricking victims by claiming to "disable automatic payments" or "offer free in-game items." They then coaxed victims into installing remote control apps. The stolen personal information and photos were passed on to Wu, who used them to create AI-generated videos.

Lan Yi, Deputy Chief Judge of the Criminal Division of the Yuhua District People’s Court in Changsha, explained, "Wu reset victims’ payment passwords using the converted AI facial images and authentication codes. Afterward, the payment codes of a third-party payment platform were sent without permission to the victim’s ‘money laundering organization,’ and a portion of the illicit proceeds was returned to the victim in the form of cryptocurrency."

The court took into account Wu’s voluntary confession, remorse, and his efforts to compensate the victims, and sentenced him to one year and ten months in prison and imposed a fine of 3,000 yuan.

Experts emphasized the importance of raising awareness of personal information security. They advised, "You should never install applications from unclear sources or grant remote control access as a basic rule," adding, "In addition to biometric authentication, using multiple authentication steps is necessary to enhance security."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.