Man in China loses nearly S$37K in long-distance relationship scam with AI-generated ‘girlfriend’

Man files report after falling victim to scam involving AI-generated “girlfriend”

A man in China was tricked into a long-distance relationship with an AI-generated girlfriend and scammed of nearly 200,000 yuan (approximately S$37,000).

The victim, Mr Liu, then filed a report with the police regarding the scam.

On 24 Feb, it was reported that authorities had recently uncovered and arrested a 10-member fraud gang responsible for scamming nearly 1,000 men across China, including Mr Liu.

Scammers use AI-generated women to create realistic videos & images

The fraudsters behind Mr Liu’s case, like many others, used artificial intelligence (AI) to generate lifelike images and videos of young women, crafting a convincing online presence to lure victims.

In Mr Liu’s case, the woman he “met” online was portrayed as “Ms Jiao”.

Source: CCTV

Ms Jiao soon claimed she had opened a clothing store and asked Mr Liu to order flower baskets to support the store’s opening.

Without hesitation, he complied.

The scam escalated when Ms Jiao requested nearly 200,000 yuan for her supposed sick family members and other financial needs.

To build trust, she even sent Mr Liu photos of her identity card, family medical records, and an inventory list.

Source: CCTV

However, after several months of never meeting her in person, Mr Liu realised he had been scammed and reported the incident to the police.

Man’s case linked to 10-member dating fraud gang

Upon receiving Mr Liu’s report, the police discovered two other victims in the same district who had reported similar scams, all involving the same script.

The common elements in the script included affectionate words, showing care for the victims’ well-being, pretending to buy gifts, requesting flower baskets, and stories about sick family members.

The police then pieced together the records and traced the fraud back to a dating scam gang led by “Yang”.

This gang was found to be well-organised, with clear divisions of labour, including salespeople who engaged in conversations with the victims.

With support from local police, operations were launched in Guangdong, Fujian, Shandong, and other locations to locate the gang.

Over 60 mobile phones, more than 250 SIM cards used for posting videos, a set of scripts, and a contact list of nearly 1,000 victims across China were seized from Yang’s rented house.

Source: CCTV

Four suspects have been arrested and approved for prosecution, while six others have been placed under legal restrictions.

Further investigations are ongoing.

Also read: S’pore actor Laurence Pang says he was scammed of S$35K by woman he met on dating website

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Featured image adapted from CCTV.