Shanghai man defrauded of $27,000 by AI-generated romantic partner
A Shanghai man lost over $27,000 in a romance scam using AI-generated videos and photos of a fictional girlfriend. Scammers created deepfake media and fake identity documents to persuade him to transfer funds, with police confirming the organized operation upon investigation.
What happened
A man in Shanghai transferred approximately 200,000 yuan (about $27,580) to what he believed was his girlfriend's bank account after being deceived in an online relationship.
Scammers used generative AI to create realistic videos and photos of a fictional young woman, and created fake medical reports and an identity card to make the scheme credible.
According to police investigation reported by state broadcaster CCTV, an organized team of scammers sent videos and photos created by AI or composed from combined images.
Reported impact
The victim lost over $27,000 and never met his supposed girlfriend in person.
Index analysis
The case illustrates the use of AI-generated synthetic media to conduct romance scams with increasing sophistication.
Meta warned that fraud using generative AI was rising globally.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.