AI scams on the rise: Michigan residents conned by deepfakes and cloned voices
AI scams are on the rise in Michigan, with deepfakes and cloned voices being used to con residents out of money and extort teenagers.
- Incident date
- May 2026
- Target
- Local teens, Robin Panigi
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by scammers to deceive people. Michigan residents have recently fallen victim to scams involving deepfakes and cloned voices. These scams range from extorting teenagers to tricking adults into sending money.
What happened
St. Clair County Sheriff's Department has seen an uptick in AI-driven crimes, including cases where scammers used real photos of local teens to create deepfake nude images and then extorted money by threatening to publish them. In another case, Robin Panigi from Burton was awakened by a phone call where someone claimed her daughter was in danger. The scammer, using what sounded like her daughter's voice, said she ruined a drug deal and demanded cash. Panigi sent $800 before realizing it was a scam.