Birmingham musician Becky Baldwin had her profile manipulated using deepfake technology to impersonate her and trick a Texan man in his 50s called Carl into an AI romance scam.
Becky Baldwin, 34, says: .“As a musician, I have quite a big social media following and I’ve had fake profiles made of me for years. People would from time to time make an account with my name, upload my pictures and start contacting my fans.”
But in June she received an email from Carl, who clearly thought he was in a relationship with her.
Becky, who is single, says: “Carl emailed me out of the blue. ‘It’s so nice not to hear you begging me for money all the time.’ I was confused, ‘I’d never do that’, I replied. I’d never spoken to this man in my life.
“‘If it wasn’t you, why do I have videos of you saying my name?’ Carl continued.”
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He sent Becky videos of herself, manipulated using AI to say nice things to him.
Her mouth had been manipulated to say things like: “Darling, we’ll spend the rest of our lives together, trust me.”
The videos had been taken from Facebook and manipulated, but the voice was different.
Becky says: “Carl had never met me, so was fooled.
“I was shocked at how realistic they were. It really freaked me out.”
At first, because of the videos Carl didn’t believe Becky. He explained he’d been contacted in February, first on Facebook, before the person moved to Telegram – a common tactic used by scammers as Telegram is more secure.
Carl revealed the details he and his AI love had shared.
He had also sent “AI Becky” thousands of dollars.
In the end, AI Becky’s constant requests for money pushed Carl away.
“He said he should have known, but that it felt good. He wanted it to be real,” says Becky who didn’t take the matter further, but made a video to share with her fans about the dangers of AI.
“It’s scary – anything can be done with your image. Anyone could do this, and access to AI is universal,” she says.
And while she needs social media for her job, she is now very wary.
She says: ”The tech companies that should be cracking down on things like this.“It’s put me off making content. What else could be distorted?”
Romance scammers are finding new ways to exploit lonely hearts, with £106M lost to the cruel fraud in the UK last year, according to Crimestoppers.
Almost three quarters (74%) of Brits have encountered potential romance scams through dating apps, while 64% have found them on social media and 56% through messages on text and email, says online security firm McAfee.
And stats from Barclays show one in 10 UK adults have been targeted, or know someone who has – with romance scams up 20% year-on-year.
Fraud investigators say AI means scammers are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to target victims.
Wayne Stevens, National Fraud Lead at Victim Support, says: “Romance fraud has been on the rise for several years. AI is making it more sophisticated and is giving criminals new ways to exploit people’s trust and emotions.
“Scammers can use AI tools to create convincing profiles, generate natural-sounding messages, to hold conversations that feel personal and authentic, and even fake video calls. This technology makes scams harder to spot – but awareness and caution can significantly reduce risk.”
Mr Stevens feels romance fraud is a particularly cruel crime, adding: “The impact can be devastating, both financially and emotionally. There’s the heartbreak of discovering the relationship was fake, which can lead to feelings of shame, embarrassment and loss of trust. Financially, victims may lose significant sums of money, sometimes all their savings.
“And, in some cases, personal details shared during the scam are used by other criminals to commit further fraud.”
* Victim Support offers free, confidential help for anyone affected by fraud, whether the crime has been reported to the police or not. You can call our Supportline on 08 08 16 89 111 or use our live chat at victimsupport.org.uk. They also offer My Support Space, a free online resource with a self-guided Romance Fraud guide, ideal for those who prefer to explore support at their own pace.
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