Man Loses $28,000 To AI Girlfriend

An Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated girlfriend has been used to scam a Chinese man to the tune of $28,000.

Naijaonpoint reports that Chinese state media, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday, that the Chinese man, identified as Mr. Liu, lived in Shanghai.

According to state broadcast station, CCTV, scammers used generative artificial intelligence software to create realistic video and still images of a young woman, whom they presented as the fictional “Jiao“.

“Liu transferred nearly 200,000 yuan (nearly $28,000) to what he believed was his online lover’s bank account after the scammers used the fake images to persuade him that his girlfriend needed financial help to open a business and cover a relative’s medical expenses,” Leadership quoted the report.

The scheme was orchestrated by a “scammer team sending video and photos that were all created through AI or made by combining multiple images,” according to a police investigation.

It added, “Throughout the process, Mr. Liu never met Ms. Jiao in person“. The scammers also created fake ID and medical reports to convince Liu.

This becomes one of the cases of wrong application of the potential of AI, raising questions on the need to regulate AI’s use.

Facebook, Instagram, and Thread, Meta had warned internet users to be wary of online friends promising romance but seeking cash, noting that scams making use of generative AI were on the rise.