In a major crackdown, Hong Kong police have arrested 27 people for their involvement in a deepfake scam that defrauded victims of HK$360 million, equivalent to $46 million.
The scam leveraged advanced AI face-swapping technology, enabling the scammers to create fabricated female personas for use in online dating schemes. Victims included men from Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, India, and Singapore.
The scammers created fake identities, including occupations, backgrounds, and personalities. These personas were designed to lure victims via social media platforms, where they presented themselves as attractive women seeking relationships.
To further enhance their deception, the scammers used voice-altering tools to sound more convincing when communicating with their targets.
Initially, the victims were satisfied with text-based conversations and photos, but as they grew more interested, they began requesting video calls. This was when the fraudsters turned to real-time deepfake technology, which allowed them to convincingly appear as the female personas they had created. The AI face-swapping tech added a layer of legitimacy, making it difficult for victims to detect the scam.
Once trust was established through these false personas, the scammers convinced their victims to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms. They used fake profit transaction records to convince their targets that they were earning substantial returns on their investments.
Fang Chi-kin, head of the New Territories South regional crime unit, stated how the scam relied on these fake records to keep the victims engaged, only for them to discover the deception when they attempted to withdraw their funds.
During the takedown, the police seized computers, mobile phones, and luxury items worth over $25,000 from the suspects’ headquarters in Hong Kong.
Further investigation revealed that some of the scammers are tied to the Sun Yee On crime syndicate, an organised crime gang operating in both Hong Kong and mainland China.
The arrests come after a recent report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which warned of the increasing use of AI-based tools like deepfakes by cybercriminals in Asia. The report identified at least 10 different deepfake software providers offering their services to criminal groups, particularly through platforms like Telegram.
As AI technology continues to evolve, criminals are finding more sophisticated ways to integrate it into their activities. This makes it imperative for individuals and organisations alike to stay informed and proactive in safeguarding against such emerging threats.
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