Artificial intelligence dating scams move beyond fake profiles to entire fake apps

SALT LAKE CITY — The person flirting with you online might not just be using a fake photo. They might not be a person at all.

Scammers are creating thousands of fake people and putting them on dating apps. The new twist is that it is not just the profiles that researchers say are fake. In some cases, the apps themselves are part of the scam.

According to Anthropic's September threat report, the company found that a China-based operation used artificial intelligence to help "build a network of over 20 dating apps" and then populate them with AI-powered people.

Anthropic says it identified more than 4,700 AI personas interacting with at least 25,000 people and generating about 2.36 million messages in just two weeks.

Robert Bohls, the FBI's special agent in charge of the Salt Lake City field office, says these scams have become increasingly sophisticated.

FBI data shows people looking for love are increasingly being ripped off, especially older Americans. Romance scam losses surged 38% last year, nearing $1 billion, with Americans over 60 losing more than half a billion dollars.

"They can also use AI to replicate voices, to replicate information, and to target someone specifically. And so it's very convincing," Bohls said.

Law enforcement is struggling to keep up.

Bohls says talking about scams can help. So can reporting losses to authorities, sharing stories about scams and having conversations with people you know, especially those who may be lonely or vulnerable to someone offering companionship online.

"They are schemes, frankly, anyone can fall for," Bohls said. "No one should feel embarrassed that they're falling for these because they're, they're very convincing."

If you find yourself a victim of fraud, the FBI says it wants to hear from you. Agents work to get bogus websites shut down and, as KSL has reported, in some cases may even be able to help victims recover some of their money.