{"id":1999561,"date":"2025-09-05T15:23:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1999561"},"modified":"2025-09-05T15:23:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:23:19","slug":"braves-fans-targeted-by-ai-powered-scammers-using-fake-celebrity-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/braves-fans-targeted-by-ai-powered-scammers-using-fake-celebrity-images\/","title":{"rendered":"Braves fans targeted by AI-powered scammers using fake celebrity images"},"content":{"rendered":"

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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) \u2014 Atlanta Braves fans have become the latest targets of sophisticated scammers using artificial intelligence to create convincing fake images and videos of celebrities and athletes.<\/p>\n

The scammers are using AI technology to generate realistic content featuring Braves players in fabricated scenarios, often designed to manipulate emotions and extract money from unsuspecting fans.<\/p>\n

According to the FBI\u2019s 2024 Internet Crime Report<\/a>, the agency\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center<\/a> received 859,532 complaints in 2024 with related losses topping $16.6 billion, representing a 33% increase from 2023. In Georgia alone, reported potential losses reached $420 million, a 40% increase year over year.<\/p>\n

Ray Waldheim, who runs the verified fan page Atlanta Braves Chop Live<\/a> with more than 242,000 followers, said he constantly sees fake photos of real players on other pages with names like \u201cBraves Dugout\u201d and \u201cTomahawk Territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of AI-generated fake Braves fan pages are garnering a lot of followers and a lot of likes,\u201d Waldheim said.<\/p>\n

The fake pages often feature AI-generated images designed to tug at heartstrings, such as Braves players in uniform helping flood victims or performing charitable acts that never happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the sad parts about it is that they\u2019re playing on people\u2019s emotions,\u201d Waldheim said.<\/p>\n

Emotional manipulation drives success<\/h3>\n

David Schweidel, an AI expert at Emory University\u2019s Goizueta Business School<\/a>, said emotional manipulation is key to the scammers\u2019 success.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can get you thinking emotionally, you\u2019re not thinking rationally,\u201d Schweidel said. \u201cWe\u2019re living in a scary time because publicly available AI\u2019s and specifically the publicly available generative AI tools have gotten really good, very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean O\u2019Malley, co-founder of Atlanta Braves Chop Live<\/a>, said fake pages are posting identical stories with different players. He has seen the same fabricated story about \u201cAustin Riley giving away his old pickup truck to his old janitor\u201d appear on football pages with different athletes and the same truck.<\/p>\n

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This story won the Military News (No Production Time Limit) award at the 2025 Southeast Emmys<\/h5>\n
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The scammers often impersonate players in comments sections, then move conversations to private messages where they build fake relationships before requesting money.<\/p>\n

Waldheim said one woman contacted his page after losing $2,000 to someone impersonating Braves third baseman Austin Riley.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey reach out to us and they\u2019re like, \u2018What happened to this money that I donated to Austin Riley? Because Austin Riley contacted me and said that he had some financial issues and needed me to send him $2,000,\u2019\u201d Waldheim said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m thinking, Austin Riley, hundred-something million dollar contract, [is] obviously not having any financial issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

The technology has advanced to the point where scammers can create convincing deepfakes of anyone with minimal source material.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaseball players, actors, any type of public figure,\u201d Schweidel said. \u201cThe video and audio of you doing your job is all that\u2019s necessary to create these digital twins that are going to be used to rip people off,\u201d <\/p>\n

Schweidel said legitimate social media posts provide all the material scammers need. \u201cThat voice clip that you would need to create a voice clone is probably on the platform already,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Watch <\/b>Uncovered by ANF Investigates<\/b><\/a> every Sunday at 7 p.m. on Atlanta News First.<\/b><\/h5>\n

O\u2019Malley said the fake pages often trace back to foreign operators. \u201cOne of the pages mentions the admins from Vietnam,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The problem extends far beyond the Braves. \u201cEvery major sports team is going to have this problem,\u201d Waldheim said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people who are scammers are very smart. That\u2019s all they do for a living, and they\u2019re doing it on multiple locations,\u201d O\u2019Malley said.<\/p>\n

How to protect yourself<\/h3>\n

Experts recommend several steps to avoid becoming a victim:<\/p>\n