A Filipino domestic worker has fallen victim to a sophisticated romance scam operation that used artificial intelligence (AI)-generated deepfake technology to impersonate Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed — the crown prince of Dubai. According to a report by AFP, by the time she realised what had happened, she had lost 100,000 Philippine pesos (roughly $1,625) which his her entire year’s worth of savings. Maria thought she had found love with one of the world’s most eligible men. The messages were warm and constant, the video calls felt real as the face on the screen looked exactly like the crown prince.
How the scam happened
Maria said she first encountered the scammer on a dating site, where the person presented himself as the Dubai crown prince. The conversation quickly migrated to WhatsApp, where the messages became more frequent and more intimate.“He kept on messaging me even when I was sleeping. It felt like there was a love spell that connected our minds,” Maria told AFP.The deception became even more convincing during video calls. In one recording reviewed by AFP, an image appeared on screen that closely resembled the real Sheikh Hamdan. His lips moved in sync with the words being spoken though the voice did not match the prince’s.However, things started to take a turn when the scammer started persuading Maria to hand over her savings, telling her the money was needed to pay for a marriage certificate and a “royal membership card” that would help her secure a job in Dubai. She paid without hesitation. Then came a second request of 60,000 pesos (about $974) to reserve a hotel room where the two would finally meet in person.When she doubted the demand, she took a closer look at the Facebook account linked to her supposed prince charming and found that the account, which has since been removed, was based in Nigeria. She immediately cut off all contact, saying, “Go to hell, scammer.”Maria’s story is not an isolated incident. Researchers cited by AFP have traced similar schemes to criminal syndicates operating in Nigeria, where fraudsters have embraced artificial intelligence with growing sophistication to make online impersonation scams more convincing and harder to detect.
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