A man from Shanghai fell victim to an online scam where he was deceived into believing he had a romantic relationship with a woman who was actually a computer-generated AI character.
The scam, reported by Chinese state media on February 26, 2025, involved scammers using advanced AI tools to create convincing images and videos of a woman known as “Ms. Jiao.”
The man, referred to as Mr. Liu, transferred nearly 200,000 yuan (about $28,000) to what he thought was his girlfriend’s bank account.
He was convinced that the money was needed to help her start a business and pay for a relative’s medical expenses.
The scammers even fabricated an ID and medical records to make the story more believable.
The scam operation involved a team that created realistic video footage and photos using AI.
Throughout the entire scam, Mr. Liu never met the supposed woman in person.
According to an investigation by local authorities, the images sent to the victim were all digitally created, some of which showed the AI character in various settings like a city street or holding a paint palette.
The rise of AI-generated content has led to an increase in similar scams worldwide, as these tools can now produce realistic text, images, and even live videos.
Recently, Meta, a major social media company, warned users about the growing number of romance scams using generative AI to trick people into sending money.
