A Shanghai man lost around $28,000 after being tricked by an Artificial Intelligence girlfriend. The man was deceived into believing he was in a long-distance relationship with a girl named “Ms Jiao. ” Little did he know it was all an illusion.
Scammers used generative AI technology to fool the man and tricked him in sending 200,000 yuan (Rs 24,02,632) to his girlfriend for a business venture and to assist a family member with healthcare expenses, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
CCTV reported that the perpetrators created counterfeit identification documents and medical records to strengthen their deception.
According to police findings cited by CCTV, the operation involved “a scammer team sending video and photos that were all created through AI or made by combining multiple images”.
“Throughout the process, (the victim) Mr. Liu never met Ms. Jiao in person,” the report stated.
CCTV footage displayed photographs of a woman in various settings, including one with a paint palette and another on an urban street.
The development of AI technologies capable of producing realistic text, images and live video has led to increasingly complex fraudulent schemes globally.
US social media giant Meta issued a warning earlier this month, advising internet users to be cautious of online contacts who promise romantic relationships while requesting money, noting an increase in scams utilising generative AI.
