I thought I’d found love online but my ‘girlfriend’ was an AI-generated fake that ended up conning me out of 17k [Video]

16:50 EST 20 Dec 2024, updated 17:08 EST 20 Dec 2024

A retired academic has told how she was conned out of thousands of pounds in an elaborate romance fraud after scammers used artificial intelligence to fake videos and photos.

Nikki MacLeod was lonely after a long-term relationship ended and took to chatting to people online for company.

But the 77-year-old, of Edinburgh, is now warning of the dangers of internet scammers using AI technology after she was targeted as part of a scheme which led her to believe she was in an online relationship with a woman called Alla Morgan.

She was contacted by what she thought was a woman through a chat group and the pair started exchanging information.

Dr MacLeod even received a series of images and recorded video messages from the woman telling her about herself – all of which turned out to be fake.

Having no reason to doubt the woman was real, Dr MacLeod …