LANCASTER, Pa. — In less than 10 seconds, Chat GPT created a fake dating profile using just the prompt "Woman in her 30's, 5'5, blonde hair, green eyes, with a dog and who works full-time."
Apparently, Chat GPT also thinks that girl's name should be Sarah.
All it would then take is a Google image search of the same description and you have now created a fake girl looking for love in less than a minute.
This is how easy it is for scammers and how hard it can be to find someone real if you’re looking for love online.
Bree Fowler is a senior writer focusing on cybersecurity at CNET. She said, “People are lonely, they’re looking to connect and online relationships are so normal these days.
Fowler believes that while AI can make romance scams easier to produce, it’s still the same formula.
“Romance scams, just like any other scams out there are looking to get your money or personal information," she advised.
The latest numbers from the Federal Trade Commission show people lost more than $1 billion to romance scams in 2022.
And that’s only the people who reported the fraud. The real number is likely even higher.
Here are your three tips to keep in mind to spot a fake profile:
1. If anyone is asking for money upfront to meet you or for some hardship, it’s a scam. If they’re asking for you to pay in cryptocurrency or that they can even help YOU learn how to invest in crypto, get out of there ASAP.
“It’s a lot easier to transfer large amounts of money and the thing is, with crypto it’s designed to be anonymous, so when that money is gone, it’s usually gone," said Fowler.
2. Reverse image search any photo on their profile. You can see if it’s been used in other places, under other names, or other profiles entirely.
3. Try to meet the person in real life, in a public place.
At the very least, video chat where you can actually see the person. If they blame a bad connection or something else like a job in the middle of the ocean, just move on.
Which gender is most likely to fall for a romance scam?
Well…it’s pretty much everyone.
A recent study by a bank in the UK found men are more likely to be victims and women tend to lose more money when they fall for these scams.
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