Description: An 82-year-old Florida woman reportedly lost approximately $200,000 after viewing a purportedly AI-generated deepfake video that impersonated a trusted doctor from the autism community and promoted an investment opportunity. According to reporting, the woman believed the investment would secure her autistic grandson's future. The impersonation allegedly enabled scammers to gain access to her banking information, resulting in substantial financial loss and significant emotional distress.
Editor Notes: Timeline notes: The incident date of 10/01/2025 is an approximation from reporting of when the reported victim described encountering the alleged deepfake. The GoFundMe page set up to assist her was established on 12/02/2025. Reporting on the incident began in mid-December 2025. The incident ID was created 12/24/2025.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Deepfake technology developers and Synthetic audio generation technology developers developed an AI system deployed by Scammers, which harmed Maurine Meleck , Elderly individuals , Elderly investors , Investors , General public and Epistemic integrity.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Deepfake technology and Synthetic audio generation technology
Incident Stats
Risk Subdomain
A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
4.3. Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
Risk Domain
The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
- Malicious Actors & Misuse
Entity
Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
Human
Timing
The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
Post-deployment
Intent
Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Intentional
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. --- An 82-year-old Ponte Vedra grandmother says she lost all of her savings, about $200,000, after falling victim to an online scam that used artificial intelligence to impersonate a doctor.
Maurine Meleck said she th…
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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