‘Your dad’s being used in these videos’: Scammers are turning to AI and TikTok to fake animal rescue videos

As you scroll through your FYP, a sweet elderly man or woman appears, asking for a moment of your attention to help save their struggling animal shelter.

“Please stay 8 seconds so I don’t have to shut down my cat shelter I poured my love into,” the text on screen reads. You stay and watch. After all, it’s only eight seconds. Maybe you even buy the slippers they’re selling to raise additional funds.

It’s a scam.

The man in the video is real, but he doesn’t run an animal shelter. He owns a menswear and tailoring shop in Canton, Ohio.

“One night I was scrolling on TikTok watching videos and I see my dad‘s face pop up, saying ‘Stay for a few seconds and help my husband or grandpa’s cat shelter,’ And I’m like, ‘What?’” Daisy Yelicheck told WMBF News. “Then I’m getting text messages from family members across the country, saying, ‘Do you know your dad’s being used in these videos?’”

Daisy’s father, George Tsaftarides, 84, does post on TikTok, where he teaches his 41,000 followers how to sew. Now, bad actors have taken his content, edited it, and used it for their own gain.

Tsaftarides isn’t the only target. Charles Ray, an 85-year-old retiree in Michigan, has also had videos from his TikTok account repurposed without his permission. In one instance, scammers used a clip of him rubbing his eye, making it look as if he was crying, he told The Guardian.

TikTok, in a statement to the Guardian, said its community guidelines prohibit impersonation accounts and content that violates intellectual property rights. Still, both Tsaftarides and Ray have had difficulty getting the stolen videos removed, even after reporting them.

Beyond stolen content, the Better Business Bureau has received reports of AI-generated scams designed to solicit fake donations. According to an FBI report, American consumers lost $12.5 billion to cybercrime last year, a 25% increase from the year before.

Now, some TikTok users are stepping in to raise awareness, warning others not to fall for every cat shelter or cow farm asking for donations. The sob story, after all, is one of the oldest tricks in the book.