A 65-year-old woman in China stole nearly $25,000 from a businessman by posing as a 29-year-old doctor using artificial intelligence.
According to Chinese media, a woman named Yu Xiuzhen created a fake identity on a social networking website and used face-changing digital technology to pretend to be a 29-year-old doctor working at a major hospital in Shanghai, but was actually a cleaner at the same hospital.
The woman has shared about 7,000 AI-generated photos and videos on social media over a period of about 5 years and has amassed nearly 10,000 followers.
Liu Hui, a Shanghai-based construction contractor, came across the woman’s fake account in 2021. The woman assured him that she had the ability to land large construction contracts because of her position at a hospital.
Hoping for business benefits, Liu Hui contacted the woman online and the two allegedly developed a romantic relationship, however, whenever Liu requested a meeting or video call, the woman refused using various excuses.
Later, the woman created another fake identity with her mother’s name and told Liu that my mother was against the relationship. Playing the role of the fake mother, the woman demanded that Liu pay 300,000 yuan as dowry and buy a house in the local area.
Liu believed the woman and transferred a total of 170,000 yuan over a period of 5 months, but when he did not receive a business contract, he contacted the police.
During the investigation, the police found the woman and found that she is a 65-year-old sanitation worker and a fraud case has been registered against her in the past.
According to the police, the woman’s real mother had died several years ago, while she spent the fraudulently obtained money on cosmetic surgery, expensive skin products and buying new clothes.
When police reviewed the woman’s videos, they also contained a small warning stating that the content was generated by artificial intelligence.
When the police showed this warning to Liu, he said that he was not familiar with modern artificial intelligence technology, so I did not notice the text in the videos.