Cyber security experts have explained what action you can take after a UK Reddit user, cactuarjon, posted a long but heartbreaking message explaining how their mum had fallen for a romance scam after joining Tom Selleck fan accounts on Facebook. She now believes that she is FaceTiming with Tom Selleck and has begun sending him money in the form of Apple gift cards.
“She says she has video chatted with both him AND his wife. A few months ago I had to tell her off as I became really concerned when she started buying Apple gift cards to pay to Tom Selleck’s agent company – Aevitas Creative Management – for a VIP membership card to do a ‘meet and greet’ with the actor which also allows premier screening opportunity to his new film that is coming out.”
The reddit user’s mum believes that her and 80s heartthrob Tom Selleck will be meeting in the UK next year. “Also, to top it all off, he has now pledged his love for her and he’s coming to the UK next year for 6 weeks (work related) which is when she will get her meet and greet and he has also said that it doesn’t have to stop there, they can go out for day trips and stuff while he’s here.
“I don’t know what to do. She is stubborn and she is very gullible. What’s worse is that she is married and I even think her husband believes he’s the real Tom Selleck as well as he’s not the smartest tool in the shed.”
Andrew Brown, Internet Security Expert at Propel Tech, said: “It is increasingly common that we hear about vulnerable people being tricked online. AI has been picking up pace in this area as fraudsters take advantage of new technology in a number of ways, from using familiar voices, to create convincing telegram conversations, emails, and even video to fool their victims.
“These scams are not always easy to spot, they are usually drawn out over a long period of time, often many months or even years, and target the victims financially.
“Typically, after building a rapport, the scammers (and there is usually more than one person behind the long con) start by asking for small amounts of money or more commonly Apple or Amazon gift cards.
“Once they have normalised this, they will then set up an elaborate or staged scenario where the victim will owe money on delivery, such as the much-desired piano in this case. It is all a game of leveraging the victim’s emotions and trust to steal money.”
How to support those who may be vulnerable to these sorts of scams?
Share stories of online scams, and how AI can be used to replicate loved ones’ voices, create video, or send fake emails, discussing the tactics scammers use, such as creating an urgency for financial help, and even smaller things like asking for gift cards.
Discuss the dangers of Facebook fan groups, where scammers lurk, waiting for vulnerable people to join. They will use the information people share in these groups in comments to other group members to target them and forge a false bond by pretending to share interests and life experiences.
Use examples such as this latest scam to help your friends or relatives recognise these red flags when they appear, so they are less easily conned.
If you have a friend or relative that is caught up in one of these scams, seek external help from a trusted source. Many high street banks have a fraud team who can discuss financial scams and romance fraud and your relative may find it easier to take on board advice from someone outside the family.
How are the scammers faking video calls?
The scammers use various methods to fake video calls, in order for the victim to believe they are talking to the real Tom Selleck and provide ‘proof’.
Faking video chats is an increasingly common tactic in these types of scams because people are much more easily persuaded they are talking to the real Tom Selleck during a video call.
Although deep fakes are an option for this, it’s an expensive approach and not always needed. Scammers often use easier and cheaper methods in their arsenal.
There are a bunch of face-swapping and lip-syncing apps that were created for fun and can be bought cheaply in the app stores on your phone.
The scammer then uses videos created in these ‘fun apps’ during the video call to trick the victim. This technique isn’t perfect, so the scammer will try to keep the video small, blurry, and short.
They will usually explain away the bad quality or the need to keep it brief with glamorous sounding excuses such as being ‘in the air travelling with a poor connection’.