DEEP FAKING LOVE

Nikki was conned out of £20,000 by a romance scammer using AI to create a 'stunning' online lover who sent her video messages. She is not alone...

- BY HANNAH BRITT

NIKKI MacLeod never thought it would happen to her.

But aged 77, and just out of a 25-year relationship, the retired professor of neuroscience was lonely and vulnerable.

"In June 2024, I started talking to people on Facebook, desperate to connect," she says.

"A beautiful woman called Alla Morgan sent me a message.

"She said she was in her mid-30s, and a sailor who worked on an offshore oil rig. She was stunning.

"We talked and talked. I fell head over heels in love. When I thought she was too good to be true, she sent me a video to prove her feelings for me."

But Alla Morgan was not real. She had been created by scammers, who had used AI to make the video.

Her likeness had been stolen from Sophie Baviere, a real-life sailor with a large online following. Nikki had become one of a growing number of people tricked by cruel romance cons, with criminals increasingly using AI to give their stories an extra layer of depth.

According to Crimestoppers, £106million was lost to romance fraud in the UK last year. Online security firm McAfee says of people who have encountered scammers, nearly three quarters did so on dating apps, followed by social media, text and email.