Boomer Traps: These AI-Generated Images Target Seniors on Facebook

Facebook feeds are often filled with surprising, attention-grabbing images, but some of these photos, known as "boomer traps," are AI-generated and aimed at scamming 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. While these posts seem real, they're actually generated by AI to flood social media with clickbait. Spam pages, some posting over 50 times a day, use these images to target older users—often boomers—who may be less familiar with online scams. The goal? Generate engagement and, ultimately, profit.

Boomer Traps: AI-Generated Clickbait

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

At first glance, these posts seem 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 they often fool less tech-savvy users.

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

Boomer Traps: A Scam Targeting the Elderly

What's worse, these posts don't indicate they are AI-generated, and Facebook's algorithms push them to the top, increasing their visibility. The purpose is to monetize user engagement through ads. The more interaction a post gets, the more attractive the page becomes to advertisers.

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

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