Appearances are sometimes deceiving and can cause very sad disappointments. A South Korean woman fell in love with an AI that posed as Lee Jung-Jae, the star actor of the Netflix series squid game, was swindled out of more than 300,000 euros, reports the Korea Times.
According to the police, a group of scammers used artificial intelligence-generated photographs of the actor and a fake driver’s license to deceive the woman. Investigators are currently looking into possible links between the suspects and a criminal organization based in Cambodia.
The deception began several months ago when the fifty-year-old received a message from the actor, apparently sent from his official account. He simply wanted to “communicate with his fans” during the filming of squid game 3. First he offered him a VIP pass for a whopping 6,700 euros. “He told me he would pay me back as soon as he returned to Korea. I believed him,” he told authorities.
The woman then broke the bank to meet her idol or free him from an American airport, where he was supposedly trapped. Their conversations lasted a total of six months.
“Firm measures”
The actor’s agency, Artist Company, does not plan to stop there. “A crime recently took place where individuals posed as our artist to demand money and gain a financial advantage,” he said on Instagram on Wednesday. “We would like to clarify that neither our company nor any of our artists ask for money, bank transfers or financial support, under any circumstances.”
The agency also called on citizens to be alert. “If you are contacted with these types of requests, do not respond and use extra caution to avoid fraud,” he warned. “We are cooperating with authorities to verify the facts and will take firm measures to protect the safety of our artists and fans.”
Source: BFM TV
