Maria thought she had found love with a Dubai prince, drawn in by his charming smile and affectionate words during video calls. In reality, the suitor was an AI-generated deepfake, leaving her as another victim of an elaborate online romance scam.
This case demonstrates how fraudsters impersonating Dubai’s crown prince lure victims by building online relationships before extracting money, with investigators linking some schemes to criminal networks in Nigeria.
Maria encountered the scammer posing as Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed — also known by his pen name, Fazza — on a dating platform. Their conversation later shifted to a messaging app, where he overwhelmed her with romantic overtures.
“He messaged me constantly, even while I was asleep,” the Filipino domestic worker shared with AFP, asking to keep her identity and age confidential.
“It felt as though a magical connection had linked our thoughts.”
In a WhatsApp video call recording reviewed by AFP, the scammer appeared as a lifelike version of the prince. Although his lip movements synced with his speech, the voice did not match the prince’s.
“Hello, beloved,” the voice said to Maria. “I truly value your love and support.”
Initially too smitten to question the deception, Maria ended up losing her entire year’s savings.
The scammer convinced her to pay 100,000 pesos (approximately $1,625) for a purported marriage certificate and a “royal membership card,” claiming it would help her obtain employment in Dubai.
Her doubts grew when he suggested meeting at a hotel and requested an additional 60,000 pesos ($974) for the reservation. Upon examining his Facebook page — which has since been removed — she discovered the account originated from Nigeria.
She terminated contact, sending one last message: “Go to hell, scammer.”
“Several people have remarked that it’s fortunate I didn’t lose my composure after this ordeal,” Maria noted.
As these scams proliferate, vigilance groups have emerged to warn users, including an Instagram page titled “Do not fall for fake prince.”
A Change.org petition named “Stop Fazza Scam” urged Sheikh Hamdan’s team to increase awareness about fraudsters impersonating the royal using Dubai phone numbers to solicit funds for counterfeit marriage certificates or donations.
“Scammers frequently request substantial payments through banks in countries different from the victims’ locations, occasionally using cryptocurrencies to obscure the trail,” the petition stated.
Dubai officials did not reply to AFP’s inquiry for a statement.
He is certainly not the sole public figure whose likeness has been misused by scammers. Last year, French authorities initiated an investigation into individuals pretending to be Brad Pitt who defrauded a woman of 830,000 euros (about $945,000).
The Global Anti-Scam Alliance calculates that global consumers suffered losses of $442 billion due to scams — including romance schemes — in the previous year.
The specific AI tools employed to create the real-time video chats with Maria remain unidentified.
Online platforms are saturated with AI-driven face-swapping applications and advanced motion-control systems capable of generating highly convincing videos, enabling users to precisely alter a person’s gestures and facial expressions in real time.
“The technology is advancing swiftly, and it is probable that real-time video deepfakes will soon reach unprecedented levels of realism,” David Rand of Cornell University informed AFP.
“At that point, distinguishing genuine from fabricated remote interactions will become fundamentally impossible.”
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