65-Year-Old Chinese Woman Uses AI To Pose As Young Doctor, Scams Man Of Rs 2 Crore

A 65-year-old Chinese woman allegedly used artificial intelligence to transform herself into a young doctor online and even impersonated the doctor’s mother to dupe a man out of 170,000 yuan (US$25,000). The woman, identified as Yu Xiuzhen, connected with Shanghai-based property contractor Liu Hui on social media in 2021. She allegedly claimed to be a 29-year-old doctor working at a prestigious Grade 3A hospital in Shanghai and told Liu she had influence over property engineering projects at the facility.

Over the next five years, Yu regularly posted videos portraying her daily life. Her account eventually accumulated nearly 7,000 videos and attracted around 10,000 followers.

Convinced that Yu could help him secure lucrative engineering contracts, Liu began pursuing a romantic relationship with her.

However, despite both living in Shanghai, Yu repeatedly avoided meeting him in person. She allegedly told Liu that her mother opposed their relationship and that they could only meet if he paid a 300,000-yuan (US$45,000) dowry and purchased property in Shanghai.

Believing her claims, Liu transferred 170,000 yuan to Yu over a period of five months. The two never met face-to-face. When Liu requested video calls, Yu allegedly rejected them, claiming her mother was around.

The promised engineering projects also never materialised.

Suspicious of the situation, Liu eventually approached the police, triggering an investigation that exposed a startling deception.

Authorities traced Yu and discovered that she was actually born in 1961, making her 65 years old. She had no medical qualifications and was reportedly working as a cleaner at a hospital. The bank account used to receive Liu’s money was also registered in another man’s name.

Police then examined Yu’s extensive collection of online videos and spotted tiny characters appearing on some of the footage that read, “This work contains AI-generated content.”

Investigators found that Yu had allegedly used AI technology to alter her appearance and construct the image of a young, attractive doctor by compositing different scenes. She also reportedly used AI to portray herself as the doctor’s mother, reinforcing the story that her supposed mother was preventing the couple from meeting.

Liu said he had never noticed the tiny disclaimer and was unfamiliar with AI technology.

Police said Yu spent the money allegedly obtained from the scam on cosmetic surgery, skincare products and clothes. Investigators also found that she had a previous fraud conviction and was sentenced to four years in prison in 2009.

Authorities have now publicised the case as a warning about the growing sophistication of AI-powered online dating scams, in which fabricated identities can appear increasingly convincing.

According to data from China’s Ministry of Public Security, telecommunications and online fraud cases involved more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) nationwide in the first half of last year.

Meanwhile, cases involving AI-powered face-swapping and voice-mimicking fraud reportedly jumped 45 per cent in the first quarter of last year, highlighting how artificial intelligence is being incorporated into online scams.