AI generated Keanu Reeves used in costly romance scam
By Michelle Meredith
Click here for updates on this story
CENTRAL FLORIDA (WESH) — Two women lost substantial amounts of money after being targeted by a romance scam involving artificial intelligence, where criminals impersonated movie star Keanu Reeves.
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, one woman from Marion County was scammed out of $40,000, while another from Hillsborough lost close to $170,000. Both women felt a romantic connection with Reeves, but it was all fake.
Valerie Strong from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said, “On a scale from one to ten… what are their chances of getting their money back? One… zero to one probably.”
The scammers used AI-generated voice and video to convince one victim that she was speaking with Reeves.
“And I believe that victim received phone calls and video where they were able to use the AI-generated voice and video… so she actually thought she was talking to Keanu Reeves,” Strong said.
The fake Reeves claimed he needed money for reasons such as going through a divorce, cancer research, or an investment.
The scammers initially made contact with the women through word games on their phones, like Scrabble. Strong described the process: “You say Hey, find me a game and they match you up with someone and play Scrabble, and it is normally someone you don’t know in person.”
Strong further detailed the scam’s progression: “She thinks she’s just playing Scrabble and then… yes, and so he starts messaging here… they build a connection and then he lets her know he’s Keanu Reeves, and he wants her to send money.”
Investigators revealed that the money was sent in Bitcoin to an account in Nigeria.
In terms of actors, Keanu Reeves is one of the scammers’ favorites.
Strong said, “And again, this is a person who is on the news doing wonderful things… and they think they were part of it and they were taken by someone who had cruel intentions and it’s heartbreaking.”
Heartbreaking but effective, the romance scam lives on.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
