AI Threat Watch

Case priangarye-governor-deepfake-26mDeepfake fraudRussia

Pensioner in Ust-Ilimsk loses 26M rubles to scammers using a 'digital double' of Irkutsk governor Kobzev, officials say

Governor Igor Kobzev said scammers used his 'digital double' to deceive a pensioner in Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Oblast, who handed over 26 million rubles, nearly all her savings, in late October 2026. Media reports describe a copied voice and a video call, and police say a further 6 million rubles was saved. The AI technique has not been independently verified.

HighAttack using AIStatus: criminal case openedVerified case file

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Reported
Nov 3, 2026
Location
Russia
Target
Pensioner in Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia
Severity
High
Verification
Reported by credible press or researchers
Triggered by
Unidentified fraudsters (alleged)
Actor type
Criminal
Sector
Individuals & consumers
Reported loss
None reported
CVE
None

What happened

Governor Igor Kobzev said scammers used his 'digital double' to deceive a pensioner in Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Oblast, who handed over 26 million rubles, nearly all her savings, in late October 2026. Media reports describe a copied voice and a video call, and police say a further 6 million rubles was saved. The AI technique has not been independently verified.

Impact: Victim handed over 26 million rubles, almost all her savings; police prevented a further 6 million rubles from being transferred.

Who triggered it

Actor: Unidentified fraudsters (alleged)

Attribution: Unknown scammers; no group named.

Motive: Financial gain

How it happened

Attack vector: Deepfake impersonation of a regional leader to deceive the victim.

Root cause: Convincing deepfakes of a trusted official paired with social engineering of an elderly victim.

Timeline

  1. Reported by prospect.com.ru

Response

Police opened a criminal case and called in medics and rescuers to stop the last 6M rubles being handed over; the governor warned residents about his digital double.

Current status: criminal case opened

Research warnings this case matches

Compared with published AI risk research from several institutes on the Research vs reality page.

Sources (open in a new tab)

Cite this case

Pensioner in Ust-Ilimsk loses 26M rubles to scammers using a 'digital double' of Irkutsk governor Kobzev, officials say. AI Threat Watch, case priangarye-governor-deepfake-26m, Nov 3, 2026. https://aithreat.io/cases/priangarye-governor-deepfake-26m/

Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/priangarye-governor-deepfake-26m/

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