A notorious romance scammer deceived a “lonely” retiree by using AI to make her believe she was in a relationship with James Blunt, the singer of “You’re Beautiful,” ultimately robbing her of over $10,000.
Fake AI-generated images and videos featured a charming British pop star communicating with a 57-year-old woman from Brazil, leading to this elaborate con that spanned more than a year. The British newspaper, The Sun, reported on this incident.
“I never thought he would reach out to me. I had lost both my mother and brother, so I was quite lonely,” shared the victim, who lives in Sant Joan da Boavista.
The scammer first contacted her through a direct message after she engaged with a livestream from the actual singer last year. Soon, he inundated her with grand romantic gestures.
This con artist claimed to be staying in a London hotel after a split from his wife and expressed a desire to visit her in Brazil.
He explained that he was short on funds because his bank account had been frozen following a disagreement with his “manager,” and urgently needed a loan to buy a ticket.
“He told me he had gotten into an argument with his manager and couldn’t access his money,” the woman shared. “He said it was to buy food,” she added.
Initially, he chỉ asked for a few hundred dollars.
“He said, ‘If you can give me 3,000 reais ($600), I’ll manage the rest once I get there,'” she recounted.
The woman, entrapped by his charm, ended up taking out a bank loan to send him cash, but his requests kept coming.
He fabricated stories about losing his luggage at Sao Paulo airport, claiming he was stuck at a gas station and needed money for a lengthy taxi ride.
She only realized she had been duped last week when she traveled almost 125 miles by bus to meet him in Campinas City, yet he failed to appear.
It was only after some digging that she learned the real James Blunt, 52, was on tour in Europe at that very time.
After thwarting the scammer and reporting the incident to the police, the woman expressed feelings of heartbreak and humiliation.
“You cannot fathom the emotional toll this has taken on me,” she lamented. “Who wouldn’t fall in love?”
