Victims of romance and cryptocurrency scams, and impersonated police officers deepfake (Dec 2025)

The Chinese-language artificial intelligence app Haotian is selling its face-swapping and voice cloning technology to scammers and online fraud operations in Southeast Asia. Scammers use Haotian and other deepfake tools to substantiate their deceptions by allowing victims to "videochat" with the character they believe they have been talking to. UN officials have identified more than 10 face-swapping tools potentially used by cybercriminals in Southeast Asia, including for cryptocurrency scams and police officer impersonation.