AI Image Copyright Extortion: Impersonating Copyrights to File Batch Lawsuits Against Self-Media

Who Gets Targeted

Primary victims include small-scale self-media operators, independent illustrators, and stock photo contributors—mostly individual creators aged 20 to 40 or small teams of three to five people lacking professional legal support. Easily misled by batch infringement notices disguised under names like 'Copyright Law Firm' or 'AI Copyright Association,' they face an information gap regarding the copyright ownership of AI-generated works. Driven by the mentality of 'paying to settle and avoiding account suspension,' they often rush to transfer funds within a 48-hour countdown. Such extortions demand thousands to tens of thousands of yuan per case. In actual judicial cases, an infringing party sold over 3,000 infringing puzzle pieces in a single case, with illegal business operations exceeding 270,000 yuan, and rights holders could recover up to 150,000 yuan in economic losses per case (Beijing Higher People's Court briefing caliber on April 22, 2026).

骗局怎么运作

• Scammers first acquire contact information for numerous self-media accounts via web scraping or purchase channels, then send lawyer's letters in the name of an 'official copyright law firm' or 'AI copyright association,' claiming their AI-generated images have been infringed upon and demanding compensation within 48 hours; the language uses legal terminology with fabricated registration numbers to create a sense of urgency.
• Upon receiving the lawyer's letter, victims often experience anxiety over potential platform penalties or traffic drops. Scammers provide an 'official payment channel' or 'exclusive lawyer customer service,' demanding a one-time lump sum of thousands to tens of thousands of yuan in so-called copyright fees via bank transfer, WeChat, or Alipay.
• After the victim pays, scammers send receipt screenshots—which are actually Photoshopped or stolen from the internet—with fictitious institutional names and filing numbers on the receipts, aiming to make victims mistakenly believe the legal process is complete.
• Subsequently, scammers demand additional fees under the guise of 'follow-up auditing' or 'additional compensation,' and even threaten to expose the victim's copyright infringement record to cause account suspension, forming a cycle of extortion.
• Once the entire process concludes, scammers immediately cut off all contact or even switch to new accounts to continue the same scam against other self-media creators, forming a scaled gray-market industrial chain.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Messages claiming exclusive worldwide copyright ownership, while the provided filing number cannot be found on the National Copyright Administration website.
• 🚩 Demanding victims make a one-time lump-sum payment through unofficial channels (such as WeChat or Alipay) within an extremely short timeframe.
• 🚩 Lawyer's letters containing numerous spelling errors or a tone inconsistent with formal law firm formats.
• 🚩 The provided 'official payment link' redirecting to a personal bank card or third-party collection platform.
• 🚩 Claims that infringing content has already been removed from the platform, using this as a threat to force immediate payment.

真实案例

• On April 22, 2026, four suspects used AI to generate infringing images, spliced them into puzzles, and profited approximately 270,000 yuan through online sales before being apprehended by police and sentenced respectively. For case details, see the Sina Finance report. (Source: [https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2026-04-22/doc-inhvkiyh4351202.shtml](https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2026-04-22/doc-inhvkiyh4351202.shtml))
• On February 18, 2026, a Beijing court tried the first AI copyright infringement case, where a suspect used AI to copy and sell others' artwork, receiving a prison sentence and an order for damages compensation; Tencent News reported on this case.
• On January 15, 2026, Wuhan's first rights-protection case involving AI image creators saw the court recognize the creator's copyright in AI-generated images, confirming that the infringing party must cease infringement and pay compensation. See 36Kr's special report for details.
• On April 22, 2026, Nandu N Video reported on typical AI copyright infringement cases released during a press conference by the Beijing Higher People's Court: Luo XX and Yao XX, legal representatives of an e-commerce company acting as the defendant entity, conspired to use others' artwork to produce puzzles, selling over 3,000 pieces with an illegal business volume exceeding 270,000 yuan. The defendant entity was fined 100,000 yuan, and the four defendants received prison sentences. (Source: [https://m.mp.oeeee.com/a/BAAFRD0000202604221562384.html](https://m.mp.oeeee.com/a/BAAFRD0000202604221562384.html))
• In March 2025, according to Tencent News reports, a self-media creator faced an AI image copyright dispute, being sued by a well-known tech enterprise for image infringement with a claim of 100,000 yuan in damages. The involved party discovered that the plaintiff's claimed images were allegedly AI-generated, and that the claimant had reportedly discovered them via web scraping technology before directly sending high-value claims letters, triggering widespread industry concern over AI copyright abuse and extortion. (Source: [https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20250308A04QO200](https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20250308A04QO200))

Official Stance

• Supreme People's Court, September 7, 2026, issued the 'Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Cases Involving Artificial Intelligence Disputes' (FaFa [2026] No. 10) (Source: [https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/511101.html](https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/511101.html))
• Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, April 30, 2026, issued the 'Qinglang Special Action on Rectifying Chaos in AI Applications' (Source: [https://www.cac.gov.cn/2026-04/30/c_1779289298718765.htm](https://www.cac.gov.cn/2026-04/30/c_1779289298718765.htm))

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ When receiving a lawyer's letter claiming to be from a copyright holder, first check the authenticity of the filing number on the official National Copyright Administration website to confirm whether formal registration exists.
• ✅ Do not pay directly in emails or chat windows; always use formal channels (such as bank transfers to official designated accounts) and retain all transaction vouchers.
• ✅ If in doubt about the contents of a lawyer's letter, promptly consult a professional intellectual property lawyer or report to the local copyright administration rather than compromising independently.
• ✅ Check the platform backend to see if the infringing content genuinely exists. In the absence of substantive evidence, you can directly appeal to the platform and provide official query screenshots to avoid being misled.