Hong Kong police have successfully brought down a local fraud syndicate that employed deepfake technology to deceive men, including victims from Singapore, out of HK$360 million (US$46 million). This happens to be the first case in the region where authorities uncovered a scam of this scale using artificial intelligence (AI) to create fake identities.
According to a police statement released, 27 individuals have been arrested, including university graduates who were enlisted by the syndicate to set up fake cryptocurrency trading platforms. These platforms were designed to lure victims into fraudulent investments and they targeted men from various regions, including Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, India, and Singapore.
Police sources revealed that the group established its operations in a 4,000 sq ft industrial unit in Hung Hom last October. University graduates, particularly those with digital media backgrounds, were recruited to help execute the crimes using computer networks and social media.
Senior Superintendent Fang Chi-kin of the New Territories South regional crime unit explained that the scam started with online romance schemes. Scammers used AI-generated images and personas and created fake profiles of highly attractive women, tailored to appeal to victims’ preferences in terms of appearance, personality, and background. These profiles were used to initiate contact with victims on social media platforms.
Even after engaging in video calls, victims were unable to detect the deception, as the syndicate used deepfake technology to convincingly alter the swindlers’ faces and voices, making them appear as attractive women. Once the fake relationships were established, the victims were coaxed into investing in bogus cryptocurrency platforms, with fabricated profit records presented to encourage further investments.
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