In a major blow to a sophisticated online scam operation, Hong Kong police have arrested 27 individuals allegedly involved in a deepfake romance scam that defrauded men across Asia of over $46 million, CNN reports.
The gang, which targeted victims from Taiwan to Singapore and India, used AI-generated deepfakes to portray themselves as beautiful women and create convincing online personas. Police say the suspects, aged 21 to 34 and mostly well-educated, lured their victims into relationships before convincing them to invest in a fake cryptocurrency platform.
The scam, known as “pig-butchering,” is a multi-billion dollar industry where con artists spend months grooming their victims before defrauding them. Deepfakes are becoming an increasingly common tool for these scammers, adding an element of heightened realism to their deception.
The Hong Kong police operation involved a raid on the gang’s headquarters in the Hung Hom district, where they seized over 100 cell phones, nearly $26,000 in cash, and a number of luxury watches.
The investigation revealed a highly organized operation with departments dedicated to specific stages of the scam. Police shared a training manual found at the headquarters, detailing the strategies used to manipulate victims:
• Personalization: Creating tailor-made personas based on the victim’s interests and worldview.
• Building Trust: Inventing personal struggles to evoke sympathy and deepen trust.
• “Beautiful Vision”: Creating a shared future with travel plans and romantic promises to push the victim into investing.
The deepfake romance scam has become a growing concern in Hong Kong, especially after a British multinational company lost $25 million earlier this year to a similar scam. Police are warning the public to be vigilant and to carefully verify any online relationships before investing in anything.
