Crypto and Romance Scam Collide: AI 'Keanu Reeves' Cons Two Women Out of $210,000

Recently, two cryptocurrency scam victims in Florida, the USA, were scammed out of about $210,000 after they mistook content generated by artificial intelligence technology for Keanu Reeves, a well-known US movie star.

Scammers are known to use word games on their phones, such as Scrabble, to search for potential victims. Such games usually match players with strangers. At first, the victims thought they were just playing the game, but they accidentally received a message from the other side, who claimed to be the famous Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves.

The scammers use artificial intelligence technology to generate voice and video to make the victim believe he or she is talking to the real Reeves. The victim then receives a voice or video call from the scammer and hears “Reeves” claiming that he needs money for a variety of reasons, including divorce, cancer research, and investments.

Victims were then guided by the lies to transfer money via Bitcoin, which went to a Nigerian account.

According to Marion County police in Florida, a local female victim was scammed out of $40,000, while another woman in Hillsborough County was scammed out of nearly $170,000. While police have stepped in to investigate, they have also said that recovering the victims' funds will be extremely difficult.

BrokersView reminds you

Romance scams are often accompanied by crypto scams and investment scams, which combine to hit victims both financially and psychologically.

To attract the attention of more potential victims, today's scammers even leverage artificial intelligence technology to pretend to be celebrities.

If you've been a victim of such scam, you can help protect others from it by sharing your experience through BrokersView.