“They appear incredibly realistic. It appears inevitable that such images of me will be circulated online.”
Nothing, they say, is inherently good or bad, it’s how the thing is used that makes it so.
Like the 9mil Ruger under your bed or the hydrocodone on your cabinet.
It’s certainly true of the phone in your hand. Digital technologies afford us our daily dose of family friendly surfing website BeachGrit.
That’s good.
But such tech also breeds rats who scurry around the dark edges of the web sniffing out places to gnaw on the innocent.
And that’s bad.
Enter Mariana Rocha, surfing pro, 2017 Portuguese champ, and victim of rats. The twenty-six-year-old is being blackmailed for five large in exchange for withholding from the world AI-generated nude deepfakes of her.
It’s a high-tech, low-brow shakedown of the poor girl.
She recently received a series of anonymous texts accompanied by the forged nude pics:
“It will be sent to your family.
“Friends.
“Sponsors.
“And the hotel your city is…
“Unless we make a deal now.”
Surfing star Mariana told the cons that she didn’t have the green but they’re still threatening her with the release of the images.
“I’m in emotional hell,” she says. “I’ve been experiencing tremendous turmoil.”
She admits that, “Honestly, they appear incredibly realistic. It appears inevitable that such images of me will be circulated online.”
Still, she ain’t giving in to the extortion play. In fact, Mariana has gone public to support other women in the same dilemma.
“Recently, I’ve encountered the darker aspects of our evolving world. What’s most alarming is the prevalence of this issue affecting many. I want to bring my experience to light because I believe this new form of harassment similarly victimizes others.”
It’s a brave move, one that might push other victims to fight against a growing number of online attackers.
Deepfake AI bribery scams are on the rise. According to the World Economic forum deepfake videos are increasing at an annual rate of 900 per cent.
In 2022, the FBI received 7,000 reports of AI-related “financial sextortion” against minors. And what once required hundreds of images to create a false image of someone now can be done with just a single photo posted to the web. (I confess, if this happens to me, I just hope that my abs look tight, glutes shining.)
Ms. Rocha currently runs the organization The Proud Surfers in Women in Africa, a wonderful organization, albeit with a misleading name. The group aims to empower girls through a mix of therapy and surfing. Mariana’s got better things to do than waste her time with these crooks.
“Watch out,” she warns. “These fucking hackers are destroying lives, destroying dreams.
