AI incident ·
Georgia Retired Couple Reportedly Lost Nearly $800,000 in Cryptocurrency Scam Using Purported AI-Generated 'Ghost Site'
In brief
An AI system built by Generative AI developers and deployed by Scammers, Investment scam operators and 2 others allegedly harmed Mindy Dunaway, Jerry Dunaway and 4 others.
- Risk domain
- Not classified
- Occurred
- Coverage
- 3 reports
What happened
A retired Gwinnett County, Georgia, couple reported losing nearly $800,000 after a stranger contacted Jerry Dunaway on WhatsApp and encouraged cryptocurrency trading. Police reportedly told the couple that scammers used an AI-generated "ghost site" to manipulate the account information he saw. The specific AI tool and developer were not identified. The loss was discovered when a larger withdrawal failed.
Editor's notes
(1) Incident date anchored to the first public report because the exact date of first financial loss is not established; (2) reporting places the initial contact in 03/2025 and discovery of the loss in early 06/2025; (3) technical attribution varies across sources, with FOX 5 relaying police characterization of an AI-generated "ghost site" while other outlets use broader descriptions; (4) Incident ID created 09/08/2026.
Laws that address this harm
No recorded instrument yet addresses this use case where it happened. See the open queue.
Matched from the record's risk domain and country to the instruments recorded here. A reviewer can correct the match in the repository (data/external/incident_overrides.yaml).
News reports (3)
Titles link to the original publisher; report text is not reproduced here.
Who was involved
- Alleged deployer
- Scammers Investment scam operators Cybercriminals Cryptocurrency scammers
- Alleged developer
- Generative AI developers
- Alleged harmed party
- Mindy Dunaway Jerry Dunaway Financial scam victims Elderly investors Elderly individuals Cryptocurrency scam victims
AI systems implicated
WhatsAppGenerative AI systemsFake investment platformsCryptocurrency trading platforms
Classification (MIT AI Risk Repository taxonomy)
- Risk domain
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- Risk subdomain
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- Causal entity
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- Intent
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- Timing
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- Harm level
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Related incidents
Linked by editors or by text similarity in the source dataset.
Other incidents involving Scammers
- Purported Deepfake WhatsApp Scam Impersonating Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Actor C. Joseph Vijay Reportedly Defrauded Bengaluru Security Guard of ₹104,000 (~$1,085.40)
- Northern Ireland Victim Reportedly Lost £250,000 in Investment Scam Using Purportedly AI-Generated Video of Unnamed Financial Personality
- Hong Kong Man Reportedly Lost More Than HK$10 Million in WhatsApp Scam Using Purported AI-Generated Voice Impersonation of His Father
- Purportedly AI-Powered KT Platform Reportedly Used in Forced Scamming Operation Involving Trafficked Worker in Myanmar
- Italian Mediaset Journalist Safiria Leccese's Image Was Reportedly Used in a Purportedly AI-Generated Fake Loan Scam
- Lyft Driver in Boca Raton, Florida, Allegedly Used Purported Google Gemini-Generated Image to Support False $75 Damage Fee
Source record: incident #1681 on the AI Incident Database · all 3 reports