Birmingham musician Becky Baldwin, 34, was horrified to discover that a deepfake video of her was used to trick a Texan man into handing over thousands of pounds in a romance scam. The scammer manipulated footage taken from her social media to create realistic videos that appeared to show her professing love to the victim, Carl, who is in his 50s.
Carl contacted Becky in June, believing he was in a relationship with her after being approached on Facebook in February. The conversation moved to Telegram, a common tactic used by scammers due to its security. Carl sent Becky the manipulated videos, in which her mouth was altered to say things like: 'Darling, we'll spend the rest of our lives together, trust me.'
Becky said: 'I was shocked at how realistic they were. It really freaked me out.' Despite her denials, Carl was initially sceptical because of the convincing videos. However, the scammer's constant requests for money eventually pushed him away. Becky made a video warning her fans about the dangers of AI.
Romance scams are on the rise, with £106m lost to the fraud in the UK last year, according to Crimestoppers. Almost three-quarters of Brits have encountered potential romance scams on dating apps, while 64% have seen them on social media. Barclays reports that one in 10 UK adults have been targeted, with scams up 20% year-on-year.
Wayne Stevens, National Fraud Lead at Victim Support, said: '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.' He added that the impact can be devastating, both financially and emotionally.
