SHANGHAI - ALsharqiya February 27: A Chinese man in Shanghai has been the victim of a romance scam using artificial intelligence. A Chinese man lost nearly $28,000 after falling victim to a romance scam in which he was lured into a relationship with a supposed girlfriend who turned out to be developed by artificial intelligence, state media reported Wednesday.
Scammers used generative artificial intelligence software to create realistic videos and photos of a young woman to impersonate a persona they called "Mrs. Jiao," state broadcaster CCTV reported. The victim transferred nearly 200,000 yuan (about $28,000) to what he believed was his supposed online lover's bank account after the scammers used fake photos to convince him that his fictitious girlfriend needed money to open a business and help a relative with medical bills.
The scammers even created a fake identity and medical reports to convince the victim, according to CCTV. The operation was carried out by “a team of scammers sending videos and photos that were all generated by artificial intelligence or by combining multiple photos,” the Chinese state broadcaster said, citing a police investigation.
The victim, identified only as Liu, never met his fictitious girlfriend during the alleged relationship, it said. A video posted by CCTV showed images of the woman in various scenarios, including one showing her standing next to a painting or on a city street. The emergence of AI tools capable of generating convincing text, images and videos has led to increasingly sophisticated scams around the world.
Earlier this month, US social media giant Meta warned internet users to be vigilant about the rise of online romance scams.
