AI-powered pig-butchering scams defraud victims of millions in China
AI is reportedly being leveraged in pig-butchering scams and other fraudulent schemes in China, enabling mass-produced deceptions and significantly increasing the scale and sophistication of attacks. AI personas are used for automated chats, screening victims, and generating fake documents, while synthetic media like AI face-swapping, voice cloning, and generated videos are deployed to build trust and impersonate individuals. Incidents include an AI voice cloning fraud that defrauded three elderly people of 60,000 yuan, and a case where AI-generated videos led to 15 victims losing over 1.71 million yuan. China's Ministry of Public Security reportedly cracked over 300 AI face-swapping fraud cases involving more than 500 million yuan.
According to a report by Anthropic, an app development studio in China operates over 20 dating apps, mixing a large number of AI personas driven by Claude into matching lists. During a two-week observation in April 2026, Anthropic reportedly found more than 4,700 AI personas conversing with at least 25,000 different users, handling daily emotional preparation chats and generating content like fake medical records and ID cards. Real part-time employees are said to handle tasks AI cannot easily complete, such as video calls. The Ministry of Public Security of China reportedly announced in September 2026 that over 300 AI face-swapping fraud cases had been cracked nationwide, with involved amounts exceeding 500 million yuan and a single case reaching 20 million yuan. The Supreme People's Court disclosed a case in February 2026 where overseas criminals used AI voice cloning to simulate a grandson's voice, defrauding three elderly people of 60,000 yuan. In 2025, the People's Procuratorate of Minhang District, Shanghai, handled a case where a criminal gang used AI to generate videos of 'beautiful women' and forged medical records and documents, defrauding 15 victims of over 1.71 million yuan in one year. AI is also reportedly used to create virtual personas for investment fraud, using AI digital humans for live streams and inducing victims to download counterfeit apps. Additionally, AI robots are used in group chats to act as 'shills' for goods sales, creating an illusion of high demand.