These AI-generated images target seniors on Facebook

Facebook feeds are often filled with amazing and attention-grabbing images, but some of these photos, known as “boomer scams,” are AI-generated and intended to scam seniors. These posts are causing a lot of trouble.

You’ve probably seen images of child prodigies, miraculous appearances of Jesus, or heartwarming stories of people overcoming adversity. Although these posts look real, they are actually generated by AI to flood social media with clickbait. Spam pages, some posting more than 50 times a day, use these images to target older users, often boomers, who may be less familiar with online scams. The goal? Generate commitment and, ultimately, profits.

Boomer Traps: AI generated clickbait

Some Facebook pages post constant streams of AI-generated images, often paired with emotional captions designed to solicit likes, shares and comments. For example, you might see a photo of an elderly woman with a message like “Today is my birthday, I am very sick, but no one blessed me!” or a child with a title like “This young shepherd sacrifices everything for his sheep, but he won’t get as many likes as Lady Gaga – prove him wrong!“

At first glance, these posts look real, but if you look closely, you’ll notice odd details like awkward facial expressions or misspelled words. These images are easily generated by AI tools like MidJourney, Gemini or DALL-E, and often mislead less tech-savvy users.

The problem? These posts can reach hundreds of thousands of views and garner thousands of likes and comments from people who believe they are real.

Boomer Traps: A scam targeting the elderly

What’s worse, these posts do not indicate that they are generated by artificial intelligence, and Facebook’s algorithms push them to the top, increasing their visibility. The goal is to monetize user engagement through ads. The more engagement a post has, the more attractive the page is to advertisers.

Some pages are even run by scammers, who direct users to external sites full of ads, fake products, or phishing schemes. The comment sections of these posts are prime hunting grounds for scammers looking for vulnerable targets to scam.

Facebook has announced plans to introduce a warning system to flag AI-generated images. Hopefully, this will help stop the spread of these misleading posts.