As families desperately seek to find missing loved ones and communities grapple with immeasurable losses of both life and property in the wake of Hurricane Helene, AI slop scammers appear to be capitalizing on the moment for personal gain.
A Facebook account called “Coastal Views” usually shares calmer AI imagery of nature-filled beachside scenes. The account’s banner image showcases a signpost reading “OBX Live,” OBX being shorthand for North Carolina’s Outer Banks islands.
But starting this weekend, the account shifted its approach dramatically, as first flagged by a social media user on X.
Instead of posting “photos” of leaping dolphins and sandy beaches, the account suddenly started publishing images of flooded mountain neighborhoods, submerged houses, and dogs sitting on top of roofs.
But instead of spreading vital information to those affected by the natural disaster, or at the very least sharing real photos of the destruction, the account is seemingly trying to use AI to cash in on all the attention the hurricane has been getting.
The account links to an Etsy page for a business called” OuterBanks2023,” where somebody who goes by “Alexandr” sells AI-generated prints of horses touching snouts with sea turtles, Santa running down the shoreline with a reindeer, and sunsets over ocean waves.
