By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-18 12:06:41 | Updated at 2024-11-18 14:28:36
2 hours ago
A British woman has been scammed out of thousands of pounds in an 'incredibly unusual fraud' that saw her fall in love with an American colonel who was actually an AI fake.
'Mary', a care worker in her 60s from the east of England, was hoodwinked out of £20,000 in just two weeks by a scammer who posed as a 61-year-old US colonel by the name of Mike Murdy, the Sunday Times reported.
After meeting on dating app Tinder in October, Murdy began gaining Mary's trust, claiming he was a widower who had lost his wife to cancer five years prior and sending her elaborate gifts of trinkets, keepsakes and gold and silver petals.
He shared a photograph of what he claimed was him and his late white, with a message that read: 'In loving memory of my beloved wife today, as I sit in the quiet of our home, I can't help but feel the weight of your absence, a void that echoes through every room and every moment.
'It's hard to believe it had been five years yet the memories of you remain vivid, etched in my heart and mind.'
Murdy would also send her personalised videos, referencing things they had spoken about.
She said: 'He sent me a video and he was dressed in his uniform with a badge on the uniform reading his name. He looked quite handsome, like somebody I might date.'
On top of the videos, he would bolster the trust she had placed in him by sending her gifts - on one occasion, Mary received trinkets and keepsakes, while another time he sent her an ornamental rose with silver and gold petals inside a glass jar.
A scammer posed as a 61-year-old US colonel by the name of Mike Murdy (pictured)
Murdy promised she would receive £607,000 if she paid some delivery fees
Mary eventually realised she was being scammed, but not before losing much of her savings
With the rose came a note that read: 'You're the one I want to be with, now and forever.'
After spending some time convincing her of who he was, Mary said he began talking about money. 'He said his wife had a life insurance policy and that he needed my help to cash in on it', she said.
Murdy told her in a video that the US military would be sending her £607,000 in a briefcase full of cash.
He told her that the briefcase was at a nearby post office, and required some fees to be paid before she would receive it.
'Please trust me on this. Let's make this happen so we can enjoy our retirement together,' Murdy said.
On October 15, she sent over £50 to a bank account provided to her on the Signal messaging app.
But the briefcase never arrived, and Murdy convinced her to send more money over.
She transferred a further £1,000.33 on October 18, and another for £3,649.77 on October 20.
He would send Mary videos of himself referencing things she had said to him
She paid him nearly £20,000 in less than two weeks
Murdy was entirely AI-generated, and never existed in the first place
Each time she sent the money over, she received an email that Murdy told her to open to click a link that would allow her to be sent the briefcase.
But every time she clicked the link, it merely said: 'Run out of time.'
Still believing she would be receiving the large sum of money, she sent over an additional £5,000 on October 23.
Finally, a large silver briefcase was sent to her home, which gave a return address as '111 E Chaffee Ave, Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States', a garrison in Fort Knox.
But a letter that accompanied the briefcase read: 'To gain access to the briefcase you need to obtain a six-digit access code. This code can be generated upon receipt of a payment of £10,000.'
Murdy assured her that this would unlock the briefcase, telling her in a video where he appears to be sweating while on an army base: 'Baby, I've been really busy with patrol and the internet connection is terrible.
'I shouldn't be using my phone right now because of the risk of explosive devices everywhere.
'It's against the army's rules and regulations, but I wanted to reach out to you to make sure the briefcase is delivered right to your doorstep. You mean so much to me. I love you.'
Reluctant to part with more money, she spent several days thinking about whether to send him the money.
He sent a more aggressive video, telling her he was 'unhappy' that 'she seemed more focused on money than on us.
'All I want is a happy retirement for you', he claimed.
Eventually, she sent over the final £10,000 payment on October 31, but her six-digit code never came.
Frustrated, she broke open the case - only to find a wad of blank paper.
She furiously told him: 'I've opened it up and all that's inside is paper and you've stolen my money.'
'That was a test to see if you're trustworthy or not', Murdy replied.
Following her experience, she said she doesn't feel safe anymore: 'It's really scary to think the fraudsters have just created these videos.
'I've never been conned like this in my life. I was saving up that money to redecorate my house. Now I don't feel safe.'
Martin Richardson, a senior partner at National Fraud Helpline, told the Times: 'This was an incredibly unusual fraud in which the scammer used every possible method to convince the victim that he was genuine.
'Not only did the fraudster create AI videos but he also sent physical items such as the briefcase, and trinkets, keepsakes and an ornament.
'Combining AI and fake letters and sending items in the post shows a level of sophistication from a very determined scammer.'
Simon White, managing partner at Time Machine Capital Squared, a British AI firm, said: 'We are witnessing the beginning of an arms race to create technology that can help defeat AI being adopted by fraudsters.'
A Halifax spokesman said: 'Helping to protect customers from fraud is our priority and we have a great deal of sympathy for [Mary] as the victim of this crime. We are reviewing the claim in line with the PSR's rules on reimbursement and will confirm the outcome to our customer early next week.'
