Amanin Shanghai lost about $28,000 after being duped into a long-distance “relationship” with an AI-generated girlfriend, Chinese official media said on Wednesday. According to official broadcaster CCTV, scammers employed generative artificial intelligence algorithms to construct lifelike video and still photographs of a young woman in order to masquerade as the fictional “Ms. Jiao”.
The victim deposited approximately 200,000 yuan (nearly $28,000) to what he thought was his online lover’s bank account after the scammers used false photographs to convince him that his “girlfriend” needed money to start a business and aid a relative with medical problems. According to CCTV, the scammers even fabricated false ID and medical reports to bolster their lie. A “scammer team sending video and photos that were all created through AI or made by combining multiple images” carried out the operation, according to CCTV, citing a police probe.
“Throughout the process, (the victim) Mr. Liu never met Ms. Jiao in person,” the report said. A CCTV footage captured images of a woman in several situations, including posing with a paint palette and standing on a downtown street.
The introduction of AI systems capable of producing convincing text, graphics, and even live video has led in increasingly complex scams around the world. Earlier this month, US social networking company Meta urged internet users to be aware of online acquaintances professing romance but requesting money, saying that frauds involving generative AI were on the increase.
