Deepfake Romance Scam Steals $46M from Men in Asia!
A shocking romance scam that utilized advanced deepfake technology to defraud over $46 million from males throughout Asia has been discovered by the Hong Kong police.
The scam entailed the creation of fabricated online personas of attractive women, which were accompanied by AI-generated video conversations, in order to deceive victims into believing that they were in genuine relationships.
The victims were subsequently deceived into investing in a fabricated cryptocurrency.
On 19 November 2019, police detained a total of 27 persons of 21 to 34 years: 21 male and 6 female. The accused collaborated with international IT professionals to act fraudulent crypto techniques from a huge industrial facility in Hong Kong.
The scammers were highly organized, with whole teams dedicated to each part of the act. According to police sources, the group even armed its operatives with a manual charged with teaching them how to win over victims’ emotions through establishing trust and creating fictive plans for the future.
Authorities conducted the operation for approximately one year prior to acting on intelligence in August. The police confiscated more than 100 phones, $26,000 in cash, and luxury watches during the operation.
Deepfake technology, which generates realistic fake audio and video, is emerging as a significant instrument for online scammers. In another instance, a multinational company in Hong Kong suffered a $25 million loss as a result of fraudsters’ use of deepfakes to impersonate company executives.
Authorities caution that the increasing sophistication of these schemes renders them more difficult to identify. They encourage individuals to exercise caution when engaging with acquaintances who present them with financial or romantic opportunities on the internet.
- Published By Team Nation Press News
