An elderly woman lost tens of thousands of dollars after a scammer used AI deepfake videos and a fabricated online banking portal to convince her that a long-distance romance was real.
In a BBC report, former university lecturer Nikki McLeod says the entire ordeal began when she turned to Facebook chat rooms during a period of loneliness and started speaking to someone using the name Alla.
The avatar showed a woman in cold-weather gear, and the profile claimed she worked on an oil rig and loved sailing. The conversations quickly took on the shape of a relationship. But Alla asked Nikki to buy digital gift cards for her to pay for an internet connection. When Nikki became suspicious, Alla sent Nikki a realistic AI-generated video of a young woman working on an oil rig.
The video eased Nikki’s worries, and the two painted a vivid future together, including buying a yacht and sailing around the world.
“And I thought, oh, she looks really attractive. And I just wanted to talk to this woman and find out who she was… She knew I liked to go out sailing, and she said, ‘Yeah, I’m a sailor. Let’s buy a yacht, and let’s sail around the world. Let’s just do that.’ And it just sounded so fantastic.”
The emotional connection deepened as the scammer professed love and pushed for an in-person visit.
“She said she was absolutely head over heels in love with me. I was in love with her. I mean, it was that simple.”
The first request for money arrived when Alla claimed she needed $2,500 for a helicopter ride from the rig to Edinburgh. She promised she would repay everything out of a supposed $1.5 million contract. Nikki sent the payment.
A second request followed, this time for nearly $10,000 ($13,232), but Nikki hesitated and grew suspicious, prompting the scammer to send an AI-generated video to calm her concerns. Nikki decided not to send the money, and Alla never showed up at the airport.
After the two repaired the relationship, Alla made a new promise. Nikki’s daughter needed a place to live in Aberdeen, and Alla claimed she would buy a £65,000 ($86,008) flat for the family. She gave Nikki login details for an online bank account with a firm called Terrafin Capital, showing what appeared to be $1.5 million. Believing it was real, Nikki attempted to transfer the funds.
The transfer was blocked, and an email soon arrived claiming the account had been frozen. The message said that releasing the money required a payment of £8,500 ($11,247).
Alla again reassured her, urging her to pay the fee and promising quick reimbursement. Nikki sent the money in multiple installments through her bank and PayPal.
She did not learn the truth until her bank flagged one of the transfers and asked for details. The bank recognized the name of the supposed financial institution and told her it was not real. The account she viewed had been fabricated, and the videos she received were AI-generated.
All in all, Nikki spent about $26,470 from the scheme. While some of her losses were reimbursed by her bank and PayPal, the bulk of the money could not be recovered.
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