ISP: Influx of dating scammers using AI costing Hoosiers thousands

INDIANAPOLIS – Online dating has long offered a pathway to love, but it has also opened the door to scammers.

Now, with the rise of artificial intelligence, detecting deception is becoming more difficult than ever.

Romance scams have been around as long as dating apps themselves. As technology evolves, law enforcement says, so do the criminals.

“Before the AI software, oftentimes you could pick up on the misuse of the English language, whether it be in a text or an email,” said Indiana State Police Sergeant John Perrine. “But when they’re utilizing the AI software, it cleans all that up and it makes it much smoother to make people believe that English is their first language.”

Perrine said state police detectives have recently seen an influx in reports of scammers using artificial intelligence to appear more personable on dating platforms. In some cases, victims have lost as much as $10,000-$200,000.

“It’s terrifying. We’re talking about a lot of money here,” Perrine said. “Some of the biggest red flags would be if they’re asking for gift cards or non-traceable, nonrefundable ways for you to send money. They don’t want you to use a credit card or a service like Venmo or PayPal.”

Investigators said many of these scammers operate from outside the United States, making it difficult to track them down or file charges. As a result, law enforcement is focused on prevention and public awareness.

These scammers are often patient, willing to spend weeks or even months building online relationships before making requests for increasing amounts of money.

And now, according to the Better Business Bureau, some scammers are using AI to generate fake photos and videos to support their fabricated identities.

“AI is not great at symmetry yet, so sometimes there’s too many fingers or the glasses don’t have the sides or jewelry is not complete,” said Nicole Amsler, communications specialist with the BBB of Central Indiana. “So if there’s anything that just stands out as a little off, do some research.”

For the first time since the BBB began publishing its annual scam tracker risk report, romance scams have risen to the third riskiest scam type — and they come with the highest median dollar loss of all, at $6,099.

Experts urge daters to trust their instincts and avoid sending money, even if the online relationship seems genuine.

“It’s so very tragic because it’s hurtful to these people, not only financially, but they feel very betrayed,” Amsler said. “And when they do find out it is a scam, there’s a lot of emotional baggage that comes with that.”