College Student Sentenced for Illegally Buying AI Tech to Steal $7,000 in Four Months

On August 16, CCTV News reported that a university student surnamed Wu purchased AI-based facial spoofing technology from an illegal website, converting static facial photos into dynamic videos capable of bypassing the facial recognition verification system of a certain bank’s payment platform. Wu advertised his services on a chat platform to attract orders from fraud groups and joined illicit online groups to receive assignments. Using victim information provided by his upstream associates, he generated AI-powered dynamic facial videos, reset payment passwords, and then sent payment QR codes to “money-laundering crews” to transfer funds. The criminal syndicate operated with clear divisions of labor, requiring new members to deposit cryptocurrency as a guarantee before accepting tasks. Within less than four months, three victims’ bank accounts were fraudulently drained of over RMB 50,000 in total. The Yuhua District People’s Court in Changsha City, Hunan Province, ruled that Wu had turned himself in voluntarily, demonstrated genuine remorse, and compensated the victims for their financial losses. He was sentenced to one year and ten months in prison and fined RMB 3,000. The judgment has now taken effect.