Shanghai man caught using AI to fake injury photos for extortion

Police in Shanghai have cracked a case where a man used AI to fake injury images for extorting money from food delivery shops. Since November 2025, the suspect, surnamed Duan, would order takeout remotely, then use AI to replace names on injury photos found online, pretending to have been hurt by foreign objects in the food.

He targeted two restaurants owned by the same person three times, extorting over 3,000 yuan in total. The owner got suspicious after seeing the same fake injury photos used repeatedly and called the police. Cops tracked Duan down through delivery platform records and arrested him in another province.

Duan is now under criminal enforcement measures for extortion, and the case is still under investigation.