By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
A Shanghai man has been defrauded of $28,000 after falling victim to a long-distance relationship with an AI-generated girlfriend, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, scammers used generative artificial intelligence software to create realistic video and still images of a young woman, who they presented as the fictional “Ms. Jiao.”
The victim, identified as Mr. Liu, transferred nearly 200,000 yuan (nearly $28,000) to what he believed was his online lover’s bank account. 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. To reinforce the deception, they even created a fake ID and medical reports, CCTV reported.
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 cited by CCTV. It added, “Throughout the process, (the victim) Mr. Liu never met Ms. Jiao in person.”
A CCTV video showcased various AI-generated images of the fictional woman in different scenarios, including one where she posed with a paint palette and another standing on a city street.