Shein dropshippers are using deepfakes to fake Black struggle for profit
scammers use ai-generated black women to hawk dropshipped goods on tiktok, exploiting empathy to sell cheap shein products at a markup.
scammers are creating ai-generated influencers, predominantly light-skinned black women, to sell dropshipped goods on tiktok, instagram, and facebook. researchers at riddance.ai estimate they find up to 100 fraudulent accounts daily, where avatars feign emotion and 'handmake' items that are actually cheap imports from sites like shein. this trend, termed 'empathy bait,' exploits racial narratives and small business struggles to drive sales, signaling a growing sophistication in automated e-commerce fraud.