Scam victim lost $25,000 to AI-generated ‘Army Colonel’

He was an unfortunate soldier.

As AI becomes more sophisticated, so do the scams that exploit it. A British woman fell in love with a “US Army colonel” she met on Tinder, only to later discover he was a romance scammer who defrauded her of more than $20,000 by deploying surreal artificial intelligence videos.

“I have never been scammed like this in my life,” the victim, who was in her 60s and named Mary, told the National Fraud Hotline, recalling the romantic false flag operation.

The lonely Brit, who had reportedly been single for 20 years, was searching for Mr. Right on Tinder when she stumbled upon “Mike Murdy,” an alleged station man, according to The Mirror A 61-year-old US Army colonel in the UK.

“He sent me a video of him in uniform,” Mary told the publication. “He looks handsome.”

They struck up a conversation, and the con man told the heartbroken bachelor that his wife had died of cancer five years ago and that he had no family or children – Murdie even sent her a purported photo of him and his late spouse. photo.

Convinced that the soldier boy was genuine, Mary gave her address to the GI and a few days later received a box containing a decorative gold flower and other trinkets. Inside was a note that read: “You are the one I want to be with, now and forever.”

Just then, the camouflage-clad con man decided to introduce her to his upcoming love mission. Murdy, who said he was from Nashville, told Mary that he was on his last trip to Cuba before retiring and had purchased a life insurance policy on him and his late wife and needed her help cashing it out.

In a follow-up video, Murdie said she had to send him money from a Halifax bank account to get the briefcase containing more than $766,000 delivered to her door.

According to the National Fraud Hotline, the AI-powered videos are highly convincing due to the life-like images and references to the victim’s name and recent online conversations she had with the scammer.

“Trust me on this. Let’s make this happen so we can enjoy our retirement together,” Murdy said in a video in which he was seen outside wearing a black beanie hat. The bank account number was provided through the messaging app Signal.

Believing his intentions to be genuine, Mary sent the money to the wolf in the colonel’s guise, before receiving a briefcase stating that she needed to wire another $12,600 to receive a six-digit access code.

When Brit balked, Murdie sent her another video in which he acted noticeably more aggressively than in the previous video. The frustrated colonel said his “unhappy” Mary seemed more “focused on money” than their relationship, insisting: “All I want is to retire happily with you.”

So Mary eventually gave in and sent the dough, but became suspicious when the code never arrived. Finally, the girl couldn’t bear it any longer. She opened her briefcase in a panic and found that it was filled with blank sheets of paper. Only then did she realize that she had been deceived.

All told, she lost about $25,000 in savings. She later discovers that Murdie’s images, voices, and words are the product of an artificial intelligence program designed to fool her and turn “stolen” into “stolen courage.”

“It’s heartbreaking,” lamented Mary, who was too embarrassed to tell anyone. “It’s really scary to think that scammers just made these videos.”

She is currently working with the National Fraud Hotline to help recover the money she lost. AI Joe.

“This scam is one of the most sophisticated we have seen as it involves artificial intelligence as well as physical items being sent by post,” said Martin Richardson, senior partner at the firm. “Especially for those who don’t understand For people with artificial intelligence, [is] It’s understandable how they fell for such a scam. “

Meanwhile, Simon White, managing partner at AI firm Time Machine Capital Squared, said, “We are witnessing the beginning of an arms race to create technologies that can help AI be exploited.” The company is working with the National Fraud Hotline on anti-fraud activities. Used by scammers. “

Coincidentally, the U.S. Embassy in the UK published a public service announcement on its website about cybercriminals posing as military personnel to defraud unsuspecting victims.

In fact, this cybernetic theft of courage may be a sign of how deception is evolving in the digital age.

Unfortunately, military masquerade isn’t the only way scammers are using artificial intelligence.

In 2023, an Arizona mom claimed scammers used artificial intelligence to clone her daughter’s voice so they could demand a $1 million ransom from her as part of a terrifying new voice scheme.