A retired psychologist in his 70s has been scammed out of $180,000 while he believed he had found his soulmate online. Queensland’s Michael continued his long-distance courtship with Melanie, a nurse in South Africa, until she turned out to be a deepfake with six fingers and distorted AI video after a year. Michael and Melanie met over a dating app and Michael told A Current Affair that he had his doubts initially but Melanie shared her passport, identity card and nurse registration certificate.“She said she was only about 50 years of age, and getting somebody interested [in me], it was obviously flattering,” Michael told A Current Affair.“My head said, this can’t be true, but my heart said I don’t want to abandon her.”
Voice cloning, face-swapping
Dr Priyanka Singh, a specialist in digital forensics at the University of Queensland, analyzed the final 10-minute break-up video call between the pair after it was proved that there was no Melanie in real. She pointed out that there were slight distortions in the woman’s earrings, the chair in which Melanie was sitting was changing shape and when Melanie brushed her face, she had six fingers.Scammers used the social media profile of an American doctor who had no knowledge of this fraud and combined this with her YouTube videos. They used voice cloning technology and the latest face-swapping applications to create a digital mask they used to put on every time Michael dialled in to make a video call.Then Melanie sought financial help from Michael and Michael handed $180,000 to the scammers despite warnings from his bank.Michael reported the case to New South Wales police, who conducted an investigation but concluded the scam was based overseas and it was unlikely he would recover the lost money. “I stopped all my internet accounts … the best way is to meet somebody in person, isn’t it?” he said.
