Deepfake romance scam gang makes men across Asia lose $46 million

At a press conference on October 14, Hong Kong police announced the arrest of 27 members (21 men and 6 women) of a fraud ring that targeted men across Asia, from Taiwan (China) to Singapore and as far away as India.

The 27 were arrested after police raided the group's headquarters at a 371 square metre industrial unit in Hong Kong's Hung Hom district.

Police said the suspects were aged between 21 and 34, most of them highly educated. Many graduated from local universities with degrees in digital media and technology and were recruited by the gang.

The suspects are believed to have worked with IT experts overseas to build a fake cryptocurrency platform where victims were tricked into investing.

Deepfake has become the latest technology adopted by online fraud networks. Photo: Tippapatt

The gang's scam typically begins with a text message, in which the sender poses as an attractive woman who accidentally dials the wrong number.

The scammers then approach and begin an online romantic relationship with their victims, building intimacy until they start planning a future together. To increase trust, the scammers use deepfakes to impersonate beautiful women during video calls.

The group is highly organized, divided into departments responsible for different stages of the scam. They even use a training manual to teach members how to exploit the sincerity and emotions of their victims.

This includes learning about the victim’s worldview to create a persona that the victim is likely to develop feelings for. The scammers then fabricate hardships, such as a failed business, and share these hardships with the victim to build trust. Finally, there is the “romantic vision” stage, which includes plans to travel together to encourage the victim to invest.

Police say victims of a deepfake scam spent more than $46 million on non-existent lovers.

The scam had been going on for about a year, before police received intelligence about the case around August. During the raid, police seized more than 100 mobile phones, cash equivalent to nearly $26,000 and several luxury watches.

Deepfakes are realistic fake videos, audio, and content created with the help of AI. The technology is increasingly being adopted by bad actors, from those who want to spread convincing misinformation to online scammers.

Hoai Phuong (according to CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bang-nhom-lua-dao-tinh-cam-deepfake-khien-dan-ong-khap-chau-a-mat-46-trieu-usd-post316961.html