"Fleece & Release": Businessman Duped by AI-assisted Hoodwinkers, in Ayvalık

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 23 September 2025)

"Cengiz" at work...

Identifying herself  as "Mine D.", a investment specialist for a 

well-known Istanbul firm, "Mine D." made contact with İ.D.,

a businessman in Ayvalık, and promised him a 45-day investment

program that would yield a 78% profit.  İ.D. believed "Mine D."'s

pitch and accepted the deal. 

Next, someone identifying himself as "Cengiz" followed up on

"Mine D."'s  success by having İ.D. link to an application that 

would supposedly let him track his investment's progress.  Over

the course of a week, I.D. sent 10 million TL (about $250,000)

to two different bank accounts as instructed by "Cengiz", who

even provided İ.D. with an AI-generated picture of himself to 

increase trust. 

...and at play.

However (!),  when, after a week, I.D. tried to reap his profits, he

found that his contact with "Mine D." and "Cengiz" had been cut

off.  He called the "well-known firm" in Istanbul and was told that

it had no knowledge or involvement in the matter.  Realizing he'd

been hoodwinked, İ.D. has filed a criminal complaint with the 

public prosecutor.  (good luck with that!)