Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda announced a new public awareness campaign to fight a growing wave of AI-powered extortion and phishing scams across the state. The campaign, called “Filtro Ciudadano, Antes de Compartir, DesconfIA” (roughly: “Citizen Filter: Before You Share, Be Suspicious”), urges residents to scrutinize links and websites before entering personal or financial information.
State authorities have detected a rise in fake websites that impersonate well-known companies, including streaming services, banks, and retailers. These sites are designed to harvest personal data, banking credentials, and other sensitive information from unsuspecting users.
Governor Targeted by Deepfake Video
Ávila Olmeda used the announcement to address an AI-generated deepfake video of herself that recently circulated on social media. She called the video defamatory and pointed to it as a real-world example of the threat the campaign aims to counter. The governor described the video as so convincing it resembled a telenovela, joking that “La Rosa de Guadalupe fell short” compared to the production.
She also recounted her own experience with a near-identical clone of the Netflix login page, noting that even she was nearly fooled by its appearance. The fake page was designed to steal login credentials and payment information.
How to Protect Yourself and Report Scams
The campaign’s core message is simple: check URLs carefully before clicking, especially when a link arrives by text message, email, or social media. Scammers are using AI tools to create convincing replicas of legitimate websites, making traditional visual checks less reliable.
Residents and visitors who encounter a suspected scam can report it by calling 089, the anonymous tip line used for reporting extortion and other crimes in Mexico. The hotline operates statewide across Baja California, covering Tijuana, Mexicali, Ensenada, Rosarito, and Tecate.
AI-assisted fraud is a growing concern across Mexico and internationally. Criminals use the technology to generate realistic fake pages, clone voices, and produce deepfake videos that can be used for extortion, identity theft, or financial fraud. The Baja California state government’s campaign is among the first at the state level in Mexico to address the issue directly with a public education effort.
The campaign name itself plays on the Spanish word for “distrust” (desconfía), embedding the letters “IA” (the Spanish abbreviation for artificial intelligence) as a warning to stay alert whenever AI-generated content is involved.
This story was first reported by Jornada BC.