The “prayer scam”: believers were deceived with «miraculous» prayers created with artificial intelligence

The artificial intelligence It is advancing by leaps and bounds and its applications seem endless. But just as it can improve people’s lives, it also became a tool for crime.

In Brazilthe Rio de Janeiro Civil Police discovered a scheme that used this technology to manipulate the faith of hundreds of people.

Behind an apparent religious service was hidden a millionaire scam based on prayers that promised miraculous cures, generated by artificial intelligence.

This Wednesday, October 8, the authorities arrested 35 personas in Nilópolisin the region of Baixada Fluminensesuspected of being part of a criminal organization dedicated to the so-called “prayer scam”.

This is how the gang behind “the prayer scam” worked

The group operated from a call center that offered personalized prayers in exchange for money. According to the investigation, the scheme had been operating for at least two years.

At that time, the «speakers» raised about 3 million reais (about 500 thousand dollars), as confirmed by the delegate Isabelle Contihead of the Nilópolis Commissariat and responsible for the case.

Isabelle Conti, head of the Nilópolis Police Station. Photo: Globo TV Reproduction

Presented as a spiritual service, the method was based on communicate, as a first stepwith the victims and ask them for details about their lives such as health problems, economic or family difficulties.

With this information, they entered the data into an artificial intelligence application, which generated personalized religious texts. Then, they read those prayers to the believers, making them believe that they were messages inspired or dictated by divine forces.

For each personalized sentence, the scammers charged an average of 50 reais (approximately 10 dollars). Many people, moved by what they believed to be a spiritual gesture, went so far as to pay larger sums, convinced that they were receiving supernatural help.

The use of artificial intelligence made the texts seem authentic and precisely tailored to each personal situation.

Contact through social networks

The band He recruited his victims through social networkswhere a «pastor», designated as the leader of the group, posted motivational messages and invited users to contact each other to receive a «miracle» or a «divine revelation.»

Once they managed to establish the link, the operators of the call center they continued the deception telephonically.

During the police operation, the agents found at the organization’s headquarters a list with prayer prices and detailed records of payments received.

They deceived victims with real information about their lives. Illustrative photo: Shutterstock

Those arrested will be charged with fraud and criminal associationwhile the police request that the victims approach the Nilópolis Police Station to formalize the complaints. This is key, since the crime of fraud in Brazil requires the representation of the affected people for the investigation to continue.

Alert about voice theft scams

This case transcends days after the Department of Public Security of Rio de Janeiro warned the public about the «voice theft scam«manipulated by criminals, disguised as security agents who they record the voices of the victims that answer questions. These voices are later used to commit fraud.

«Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated. It is crucial that citizens be alert and adopt simple verification measures, such as making a video call to confirm the identity of the person,» said the Undersecretary of Intelligence of the Ministry of Public Security, Pablo Sartori.