There are so many people out there looking for love, and in today’s technological world, loads of them turn to the internet to find “the one.” Many use dating apps, social media, or other platforms. But the problem is that lots of scammers operate on these sites, and many are now using state-of-the-art AI chatbots to fool users into thinking they’re in relationships.
How Do AI Romance Scams Work?
AI romance scams work as follows: the scammer creates or runs accounts on dating apps or other services that are actually run by chatbots. So, if someone sends a message or engages in conversation with that particular user, they’re actually talking to AI. And these AI bots are designed to sound as realistic as possible, so it can be tricky to tell them apart from real users.
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Often, these AI chatbots also have enticing profiles that use fake or stolen images of attractive people, and they often send unsolicited messages to many people, in the hopes that at least one will fall into the scam. Then, the bot carries out a conversation with the user, often with some sort of malicious intent or objective, like:
- Getting the user to send them money.
- Inciting them to send explicit or personal photos, which can then be used to blackmail them.
Signs of AI Romance Scam Chatbots
Sign 1. Instant Responses
Most people aren’t online 24/7 and so can’t respond to every message they get right away. So, most of the time, if you contact someone on a dating app or site, they might only respond an hour or two later and might take little breaks during conversations to eat or use the restroom. Chatbots don’t work like that, as they’re often always connected and respond to you immediately, every time.
Sign 2. Strange, Repetitive or Unnatural Language
Even though AI can talk like real people nowadays, many bots still have certain tendencies that make them easy to spot, when you know how. They might use perfect sentences that never have any typos or minor mistakes, for example, which isn’t realistic for most humans. They also may repeat the exact same questions or phrases word-for-word or use phrases that seem a bit unnatural.
Sign 3. Vague Answers to Personal Questions
Bots aren’t people. So, if you try and ask them personal questions, like asking them about their lives, their childhood, or asking them to tell you some sort of story or anecdote from their past, they’ll often struggle to respond.
Sign 4. Always Pushing the Conversation onto Specific Topics
Another sign that you’re chatting with a bot is that it evades certain topics and constantly seems to push the conversation onto the topics it’s programmed to focus on. Of course, real people also act like this sometimes, but you can usually tell when a bot is ignoring all your questions and keeps turning the conversation in one specific direction.
Sign 5. Demands for Money
Often, the end goal for AI romance scams is for the scammer to get paid. They want to trick people into sending them money somehow, and they often do this by getting the user to develop feelings for the AI bot. Then, the bot will make up a claim and ask for money to help with something like an urgent medical bill or car repair, for example.
Sign 6. A Lack of Photos or Refusal to Take or Send Any New Ones
Many AI bot profiles have fake or stolen photos, as mentioned earlier. You might be able to reverse image search the images and see who they really belong to, or you might even spot the same images used on multiple accounts, which is a very clear red flag.
Sign 7. Professing Strong Emotions Very Quickly
For some people, love happens fast. But a most folks like to take their time and won’t necessarily be saying they love you after only an hour or two of chatting. Many AI bots, however, are designed to entrap people as quickly as possible, so they’ll use very emotional language and seem to be falling for you very quickly, even if you haven’t said or done much up to that point.
How to Protect Yourself From AI Romance Scam Chatbots
- Check the profiles of anyone you speak to, to look for red flags.
- Be wary of unsolicited messages from random accounts.
- Refuse demands to chat on other platforms until you know the person better.
- Don’t send money to people you don’t know.
- Ask for proof that the person is who they say they are, such as social profile links or recent pictures.
- Be cautious about sharing too much too soon until you get to know people.
Report the Scam
You can report suspected bots on most major social platforms and dating sites by following their report systems or contacting their support teams. You can also report scams as follows:
- Report to the FTC.
- Report to the FBI Internet Complaints Center.
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