Fraudsters employed deepfake technology to impersonate attractive women during video calls, deceiving love-struck men into “investing” in cryptocurrencies. This was reported by SCMP, citing Hong Kong police.
In October 2023, the syndicate established an operational center in a 4000-square-foot industrial building in the Hung Hom constituency and began recruiting staff. University graduates specializing in digital media were among those employed.
The group developed fake trading platforms used to lure victims into investing in cryptocurrencies. They targeted individuals through social and computer networks.
Authorities reported the arrest of 27 individuals. Victims included men from Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, India, and Singapore. The total loss amounted to 360 million Hong Kong dollars ($46.3 million).
This marks the first instance of local authorities dismantling a fraudulent syndicate that used deepfake technology with artificial intelligence to deceive people, notes SCMP.
Previously, fraudsters swindled an 82-year-old retiree out of $690,000 by creating a realistic face of Elon Musk, who offered an “attractive investment opportunity.”
Earlier, in September, CertiK warned that attacks using AI and deepfakes were extending beyond video and audio. They could potentially target crypto wallets.