Man fell in love with a woman, made of AI... and ended up being robbed of 27 thousand dollars

Believing in love came at a high price. A man in Shanghai lost more than $27,000 after being tricked into an online relationship with a fictitious girlfriend generated by artificial intelligence, Chinese state media reported Wednesday. The scammers used a generative AI program to create realistic videos and photos of an imaginary young woman, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The victim transferred nearly 200,000 yuan (about $27,580) to what he thought was his girlfriend’s bank account. The criminals used fake videos and photos to convince him that she needed funds to open a business and help a family member pay for medical expenses. They even created medical reports and a fictitious ID card to lend credibility to their scheme.

The operation was carried out by a "team of scammers who sent videos and photos created by AI or combining several images," CCTV said, citing a police investigation. The victim "never met in person" his alleged girlfriend, the channel said.

A CCTV video shows photos of a woman in different situations, such as posing with a paint palette or on a city street. The emergence of artificial intelligence tools capable of generating convincing images, videos and texts is giving rise to increasingly sophisticated scams around the world. Earlier this month, US social media giant Meta urged internet users to be wary of online relationships, saying that frauds using generative AI are on the rise.

dmr