A Filipino woman thought she had found love with Dubai’s charismatic crown prince after weeks of friendly messages and intimate video calls.
Instead, she became the latest victim of an increasingly sophisticated AI-powered romance scam that uses deepfake technology to impersonate Dubai’s heir to the throne, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, according to AFP.
The woman, a domestic worker who only gave her first name as Maria, said she met a scammer posing as a prince on a dating site and the conversation moved to WhatsApp, where she was flooded with loving messages.
“He kept sending me messages even while I was sleeping,” the victim told AFP. “It felt like there was a love spell that connected our hearts.”
The deception reportedly became even more convincing during the video call.
In one recording seen by AFP, an image appeared on the screen that appeared to be of a real prince. His lips moved in sync with his words, but the voice did not match that of the real Sheikh Hamdan.
“Hello, my love,” said the caller. “I really appreciate everyone’s love and support.”
Maria said she initially had no reason to suspect she was being deceived.
By the time the allegations surfaced, she had already lost 100,000 Philippine pesos, or about $1,625. Scammers convinced them to pay for a marriage certificate and a “royal membership card” that was supposed to help them secure jobs in Dubai. That amount was equivalent to one year’s worth of Maria’s savings.
The scammer then asked for another 60,000 pesos, or about $974, to book a hotel room where they would eventually meet.
The request prompted Maria to take a closer look at Facebook accounts associated with the alleged prince charming.
She discovered that the account was based in Nigeria, but it has since been deleted. She immediately cut off contact.
“Go to hell, you scammer,” she wrote in her final message.
“Many people said they were glad they didn’t go crazy after the experience,” Maria told AFP.
Researchers cited by the news agency found that some of the schemes were organized by criminal organizations operating in Nigeria. In Nigeria, fraudsters are increasingly employing artificial intelligence to make online identity fraud more convincing.
These shortcomings are part of a growing “fake Dubai prince” scam targeting people seeking love online.
Scammers exploit Sheikh Hamdan’s vast social media following (more than 17 million followers on Instagram) to steal Sheikh Hamdan’s image, identity, and even authentic poetry, making their victims believe they are communicating with the real royal family.
AFP has identified multiple Facebook groups pretending to represent the prince, some of which have amassed thousands of followers.
The page encouraged users to continue the conversation through WhatsApp and Telegram and featured manipulated but very realistic images.
One photo showed the prince kneeling with a ring in his hand, while another pictured him holding a red rose next to the caption: “Sweetheart, can you send me an ‘I love you’ on WhatsApp?”
Some commenters warned that the account was a scam, while many others responded with heart and kiss emojis.
There was no immediate comment from Dubai authorities.
Todd Spodek, a New York-based federal criminal defense attorney who represents clients in fraud cases, said romance scams often rely on building a victim’s trust over an extended period of time before money is exchanged.
“They are building long-term relationships with vulnerable people, building trust and building rapport,” Spodek told the Post. “And then eventually we’ll gradually move them to a point where they can freely contribute funds until they can make the most of their funds.”
Spodek said scammers are using so-called “social engineering” to prey on people experiencing vulnerable moments in their lives.
“What they’re doing is weaponizing certain life situations,” he told the Post, citing people dealing with divorce, the death of a spouse or other major life changes as examples.
He said awareness remains the best defense against increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes.
“The first step is education,” Spodek told the Post.
Experts urged people to be especially wary if online relationships escalate into requests for money or expensive gifts.
“When someone starts asking you if they can send you money or gift cards or an iPhone or anything like that, that should raise a red flag,” he told the Post.
