AP investigation shows how AI and other American technologies are abused to fuel scam industry

Rome-based investigative reporter Erika Kinetz and colleagues produced a multi-format package showing how American technologies are used to fuel the global scam industry.  

Using a screenshot an Indian man smuggled out of a Myanmar scam compound, Kinetz and C4ADS, a global security nonprofit, identified software used to target tens of thousands of victims monthly. Kinetz learned the tools were built using AI models from major American companies, chiefly OpenAI. An analysis of cryptowallet addresses enabled Kinetz to connect these tools with scam networks that have taken in tens of millions of dollars. Exclusive data from devices used at Myanmar scam compounds showed they rely disproportionately on U.S. internet service providers. Exclusive satellite imagery showed a proliferation of new compounds, with many using Starlink.  

Photographer David Goldman shot images of a Massachusetts man who lost his savings to a scam. Manish Swarup in India photographed the man from the Myanmar scam center. Videojournalist Serginho Roosblad produced a video recounting the scam victim’s ordeal. The story is part of an AP collaboration with “Frontline.”