A New York legal consulting firm warned the immigrant community about the scams that human traffickers commit using artificial intelligence (AI).

William Murillo, executive chairman of the legal advisory group 1800migrante, told EFE An Ecuadorian family was extorted for more than $12,000 that they sent to Mexico in an attempt to locate a member of their family. which had disappeared between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso (Texas), on its way to the United States.

“Citizens have been warned Avoid getting scammed with these videos that look realbut they are manipulated with the intention of deceiving family members and creating false hopes for the sole purpose of deceiving them,” he stated.

The family contacted the organization, which was founded in Ecuador in 2008 and is also based in New York, when the woman disappeared, after which 1800migrante issued a warning bulletin, saying photos and data in hopes of obtaining information that can be used to locate her.

Shortly afterwards, the ‘coyote’ (as human traffickers are also called) sent the family a video showed the woman “literally dying” on the ground with the message “she is no longer with us, she is now in heaven.”

Blackmailers used artificial intelligence to defraud the family of an Ecuadorian missing in Mexico into believing she was alive

The messages sent to the family by human traffickers They disappeared automatically over time.

Since the woman’s body had not been found, her relatives in Ecuador did not give up and shared information on social networks in an attempt to locate her. “And that’s where the nightmare started,” because the traffickers used one of the photos “to do what they did,” Murillo said.

The person in charge explained to EFE that other family members in New Jersey received messages that the “dying woman” had been “rescued”, that she was on her way to the United States, and asked who would cover the costs of her journey.

The messages gave hope to the family, who asked for proof that she was alive. but they didn’t want photos because they can be changed with the help of technologyhe indicated.

According to Murillo, the traffickers, both the one who sent them the message that she was dying and the second, must have been partners in the extortion, and therefore had access to the family number in the United States.

Scammers are scamming Ecuadorians looking for information to migrate to the United States via TikTok, Instagram and Facebook

“They used a photo, they superimposed the image of her, where her eyes are moving and it looks like she’s talking. Then they come up with a video that has an image of a woman who is different,” said Murillo, who believes the woman who volunteered for the edited video is complicit with the scammers.

After seeing the images, the family members sent the $12,000 to Mexico.

When the day arrived for the Ecuadorian to be handed over to her family, the traffickers never showed up at the agreed point. The $12,000 defrauded is added to the $18,000 agreed for the trip from Ecuador.

“The coyotes used encrypted messages, the videos sent could not be saved because (the program they were using) did not allow it, and once viewed they disappeared,” he indicated. The official also explained that the group had access to copies of the videos because the relatives were able to record them on another mobile phone.

Murillo also pointed out that the relatives have not filed complaints because they are undocumented and “they don’t want to get involved with the authorities,” he said. “This is the first case we can identify (using AI), but it will be the first of many,” he said. (JO)