Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to target individuals through text messages, social media, and dating apps.
Several victims have lost substantial amounts of money to individuals they believed were genuine women, only to discover they were deceived. The culprits behind these schemes have been exploiting both the financial and emotional vulnerabilities of their victims.
A woman appearing in a video, which may seem authentic to some viewers, is actually heavily filtered, with unnatural features such as eyes and a chin that seamlessly merges with her neck. This has been confirmed by two security experts.
One victim, Jim, who prefers to remain anonymous, shared his experience of being persuaded by a woman to invest money. Despite expressing his concerns about their age difference, the woman professed her love for him and claimed they shared many common interests.
Jim initially encountered her through an unexpected text message and was led to believe they had a mutual acquaintance. He wasn’t seeking a romantic relationship, but the woman convinced him of their compatibility and mentioned a relative with a significant position in the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Convinced by her, Jim invested $60,000 in the stock exchange, only to lose most of it when the investment failed. Subsequently, the woman set up a crypto account in his name overseas, but when Jim attempted to withdraw the funds, he faced exorbitant tax fees upfront, which experts identify as a hallmark of a scam.
Another individual, also named Jim, fell victim to similar deceit, losing thousands of dollars through gift cards to individuals using fake and altered photos. He believed the women expressing affection in these photos were genuinely interested in him.
Experts from Bitdefender and NordVPN have analyzed the photos and videos and confirmed their fraudulent nature, pointing out unnatural aspects such as hair and facial features. They also noted inconsistencies in the appearance of handwritten notes and physical attributes like hands and earrings.
Rapid progression of a romantic relationship is a red flag, according to dating experts. Scammers often escalate their expressions of love and interest in personal information quickly to gauge potential financial gains.
Scammers might also use texting apps instead of real phone numbers. It’s advised to meet someone from online in a safe, public place relatively soon after initial contact.
Both Jim’s have learned the hard lesson of not trusting strangers with their finances, regardless of how convincing their stories or images may seem.
Scammers often use pet names like “babe” and “honey” to maintain a generic approach that can be applied to multiple targets.
The prevalence of romance scams, with or without the use of AI, has been on the rise. According to recent data from the Federal Trade Commission, $1.3 billion was lost to such scams in 2022.