Lonely pensioner loses £7,500 thinking James Blunt was in love with her - the-sun.com

A 57-year-old woman was defrauded of £7,500 after falling for an online romance scam involving deepfake images of musician James Blunt. The scammer used AI-generated content to create a false sense of connection and extract money from the victim over a period of more than a year.

What happened

The victim was initially contacted after commenting on a live stream by an account claiming to be James Blunt. The conversations quickly escalated in intensity and frequency. The scammer sent AI-generated images and videos purporting to show Blunt in Brazil. The scammer claimed to be separated from his wife and living in a London hotel, and that he wanted to meet her in Brazil, but he had issues accessing his funds. The victim then sent money to the scammer, even taking out loans to do so. The requests for money continued, with the scammer claiming to have been robbed or stranded. Doubts arose when the scammer claimed to be waiting for her in Campinas, while the real James Blunt was touring in Europe. The victim discovered the truth and reported the incident to the police. She had sent at least £7,500 to the scammer in total.