A man in Shanghai, China has been scammed out of almost $28,000 after becoming a victim to an AI romance scam, according to a report from Chinese state media.
It was reported that scammers had used a generative AI program to create realistic videos and photos of a young woman who they called ‘Ms. Jiao.’
After the man became romantically interested in the fictional persona, he transferred close to 200,000 yuan (around $28,000) to the ‘woman’s’ bank account.
The media reports that the scam was bolstered with the creation of a fake identity and even medical records. These medical and reports bills were said to be used to manipulate the victim into believing the woman needed financial assistance.
Romance scams have been reported for some time now, but the introduction and growing abilities of artificial intelligence technology has led to them becoming more sophisticated.
Some scammers are now utilizing AI in sophisticated ways
The computer security company McAfee released a report on February 11, 2025, which reveals more than half (52%) of people have been scammed out of money or pressured to send money or gifts by someone they met online.
The company has seen an “explosion of online romance fraud” through social media, messaging platforms and AI chatbots. In the study, 26% of people say they – or someone they know – have been approached by an AI chatbot posing as a real person on a dating app or social media.
A total of 21% “have been contacted by someone pretending to be a well-known public figure. Of those who fell for it, 33% lost money, with an average reported loss of $1,985.”
As for romance scam websites, McAfee blocked 321,509 fraudulent URLs “designed to lure in victims” in the seven weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day.
At the beginning of the year, it was reported that a woman in France had been duped out of €830,000 ($850,000) because of an AI scam where she believed she was in a relationship with Hollywood celebrity Brad Pitt.
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
