- A Philly woman was recently defrauded of a total of $450K from a crypto romance scam.
- The victim met the perpetrator via the Hinge dating app.
- The scammer employed pig butchering techniques and a deepfake AI video tool to dupe the target.
Philly Woman Falls to a $450K Crypto Romance Scam
Romance scams, also known as “pig butchering”, are no longer new. However, it appears that a lot of people still fall prey to them for one reason or another. Recently, a divorcee from Philadelphia got ensnared in one of these fraudulent activities and lost nearly $450,000.
Shreya Datta, a tech professional, was one of the latest victims of a crypto romance scam. According to her side of the story, she met a guy named “Ancel” on the Hinge dating app. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary as the man impressed her with his flair and apparent success as a French wine trader.
Upon getting comfortable in their conversations, the would-be perpetrator brought their communications via WhatsApp. The courting of the potential victim continued there as the two exchanged selfies and personal messages.
The two also talked via video calls to gain Datta’s confidence. However, any attempt for them to meet in person failed to materialize as Ancel always had a believable excuse for it.
Along the way, the 37-year-old tech professional was enticed by Ancel to invest in a crypto trading app. The app even came with a two-factor authentication, which made it appear legitimate.
Datta was sold on the promises of financial gains from the app and decided to convert her savings into cryptocurrency via Coinbase. Her initial trades on the app allowed her to profit and withdraw her gains.
With a taste of triumph in her first few trades, Datta began pouring more funds into the app with the hope that it could further boost her earnings. She even took out loans to finance her trades, which amounted to a sum of $450K. Now, this is where things started to take a turn for the worse.
By the time Datta doubled her earnings on the app, she attempted to withdraw her funds. However, she was prevented from doing so as it required her to submit a “personal tax.”
Finally realizing the red flags, Datta sought the help of her brother in investigating the Ancel fellow. Through a reverse image search, they found the real identity of the gym buff she thought she had been talking with, but it was neither Ancel nor a French wine trader.
The hunt brought the siblings to a German fitness influencer whose likeness was used in the crypto romance scam. Meanwhile, the guy Datta was talking with on the video was merely puppeteered via a deepfake artificial intelligence (AI) tool with a special script.
A Cautionary Tale
It’s very unfortunate that things took a bad turn in what could have been Datta’s next shot of love. What’s worse is that it now left her in debt as well as emotional and psychological trauma. We certainly hope she will recover from everything that transpired in her ordeal.
As for readers, this should serve as a fair warning of the elaborate hoaxes that crypto romance scammers employ nowadays, especially with the advancements of AI. Be vigilant in your dealings, particularly if it involves your finances.
With the advent of advanced AI tools, don’t just fall for someone based on your conversations online. If things don’t add up, that should also be a sign to be more attentive for more red flags. Likewise, check with FinCEN or state regulators about the legitimacy of any crypto trading or exchange app you are about to use, or better, employ the help of a certified financial adviser before placing your hard-earned money into an investment for a good measure.