Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry has detained 25-year-old Ilkin Nahmadov for using artificial intelligence to doctor photos and videos of university students, then demanding money to delete the fake material.
The Main Directorate for Combating Cybercrime under the Interior Ministry opened the case after receiving complaints. Students from several universities reported that manipulated images of them had been circulated on social media, after which they were asked to pay to have the material taken down.
Operational and technical measures allowed investigators to identify and detain the suspect. The inquiry found that he had obtained photos and videos of students from TikTok and Instagram before altering them using artificial intelligence programs.
Nahmadov added offensive and humiliating captions to the doctored images and posted them from fake social media accounts he had created himself. He then demanded payment from the victims in exchange for removing the material.
A criminal case has been opened at the Main Directorate for Combating Cybercrime, and the investigation is ongoing.
Interior Ministry urges caution online
The Interior Ministry advised the public to be careful when sharing personal photos and videos on social media, to set proper privacy settings on their accounts, and to avoid sharing personal information with strangers online.
The ministry also noted that using people’s images without consent to create fake, degrading content with artificial intelligence, distributing it, or demanding money for its removal constitutes a criminal offense. It said such cases are dealt with strictly under the law, and depending on the severity of the act, offenders can face imprisonment.
