Bree Smith has been a familiar face for Nashville for nearly a decade. But in January, mom and former TV meteorologist stopped appearing on local CBS-affiliated radio stations, a decision she made after her battle with Deepfakes, which were simulated online images or videos that seemed realistic.

In Smith's case, her images were shaped to create clear images and videos, with her face edited into different naked bodies and then used to try to blackmail money from others. According to the FBI, a "seven-point" scam like this has targeted thousands of Americans in the past year alone.

"I cried and slept most nights, mostly because I didn't want my kids to see me," said Smith, 43. She recalled her first understanding of images in emails, which included exchanges between senders and the "imitators" that "imitators" shaped on the internet.

Deep speeds are quickly multiplied by private dinners and intimate behaviors in exchange for hundreds of dollars and aimed at anyone who might know Smith. She started tracking new accounts using Deepfake in Google spreadsheets and added 24 in just one week, which she said has appeared online. A fake video also surfaced, with one faint video claiming to be Smith.

"You're basically accepting someone's identity," she said. "You're weaponizing them."

Smith has become a voice advocate for regulations that can enable one in six victims to fight back against their criminals. Last week, Bill Smith supported the Tennessee Senate. The bill, called the "Down on Deep Strikes" Act, was sent to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who is expected to sign it into law. If shared without consent, it provides a way for people targeting the six-point scam.

"These impostors are trying to take my story, my story is mine," Smith said. "It's my life. I'm 43 years old, I'm already working hard, I'm loving it, and I'm not just going to get in."

“Defining it as illegal is a crucial first step, but it still needs to be done, such as figuring out how to stop it and hold people accountable,” she said.

When the bill was working through the Tennessee Legislature, Smith appeared before the Tennessee Criminal Justice Subcommittee last month, sharing her experience with Deep Fruit and the ways in which the scams affected her and her family. In testimony to lawmakers, she said that pretending to be her Deepfake account has appeared on Facebook and Instagram, too large to find and report individuals.

"I tried to catch the impostors and stop them, but like I said, there were hundreds. It was like whipping moles, they just came everywhere." "I should look at them and say, 'There's nothing we can do, buds?'" Smith said to the lawmakers.

According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, there were more than 34,000 Sexttort victims in 2023. Last year, that number climbed to more than 54,000 victims. The FBI said the Financial Sixth Bureau is different from the typical bias because it involves perpetrators threatening to release clear material, and the U.S. has increased in the U.S. and targeting minors unless payments are met.

Hayley Elizondo, who tracks one in seven crimes at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said the economic gains are the main targets of the perpetrators.

"These criminals, their entire game is for making money," she said. "I'm not surprised that we're seeing adults become financial second targets as well. Frankly, they'll be in contact with those who can pay."

Officials say that if people consider themselves victims of deep strikes, the most important thing for people is to report to them.

"If you encounter Deepfake content involving you or someone you know, report it to the platform that hosts the content," said the nonprofit National Cybersecurity Alliance. "This can help remove it or investigate, limiting its potential impact."

The organization also recommends reporting it to federal law enforcement, which can be done through the Internet Crime Complaint Center.