[World] - Fake Dubai prince scam: how AI deepfakes love-bomb victims to steal hearts and money |…

A Filipino domestic worker was targeted by an elaborate romance scam involving an AI deepfake impersonating the crown prince of Dubai, Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum. The victim was drawn into an online relationship that utilized sophisticated technology to facilitate fraudulent interactions.

What happened

The victim, referred to as Maria, met the individual posing as Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed—also known as Fazza—on a dating website. The interaction shifted to a messaging application where the scammer engaged in persistent communication, bombarding the victim with romantic messages at all hours. To solidify the deception, the scammer utilized AI deepfake technology to conduct live video calls. During these calls, the perpetrator appeared on screen as the prince, with lip movements synchronized to the audio. However, the voice heard during the call did not match the prince’s real-life voice. Researchers have linked these types of fraudulent operations to crime syndicates based in Nigeria, noting that the scams rely on cultivating emotional bonds through love-bombing techniques before requesting money from victims.