Group used AI to forge online fundraisers with images of sick children The Civil Police of Rio Grande do Sul launched, this Tuesday morning (14), an operation to dismantle a criminal group that created false donation campaigns on the internet using images of children with cancer. Until the last update of this report, 13 people had been arrested. The action, called Operation Sophia, carries out 19 preventive arrest warrants and 17 search and seizure warrants. Court orders are executed in Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Pernambuco. ? Access the g1 RS channel on WhatsApp The investigation began after the mother of a girl undergoing cancer treatment, named Sophia, reported that photos and videos of her daughter were being used without authorization. The material appeared in sponsored ads on Facebook and Instagram to raise money, but the family never received the funds. According to delegate João Vitor Herédia, from the Electronic Property Crime Repression Police Station (DRCPE), the group used artificial intelligence tools, deepfake and voice cloning to give veracity to the advertisements. The publications were made by fake pages with names such as "Clube de Donadores" and "Unidos pelo Amor". When clicking on the ads, victims were directed to websites that imitated legitimate fundraising platforms, such as Vakinha. On these pages, a Pix code was generated, and the money fell into the accounts of shell companies controlled by criminals. Just in the false campaign involving the image of the girl who gave the operation its name, the police tracked R$294,500 embezzled. The investigation also identified a company that functioned as the group's financial core and that handled more than R$1.7 million during the period investigated. In addition to Passo Fundo, in RS, the operation takes place in the cities of Dourados (MS), Vitória de Santo Antão (PE), Francisco Beltrão and Cruzeiro do Iguaçu (PR), Piracicaba, São Paulo, São Vicente, Catanduva, Santana de Parnaíba and Sorocaba (SP). The Civil Police advises that the population check the veracity of fundraising campaigns before transferring amounts. The recommendation is to confirm the data directly with the family or institution and check if the name of the Pix recipient matches the real beneficiary. Group that used AI to forge online fundraisers with images of sick children is the target of an operation in five states Disclosure/Civil Police VIDEOS: Everything about RS