“I’ve got fake videos from Jennifer Aniston asking me for £200 and saying she loves me,” Davis said. He ultimately sent £200 in non-refundable Apple gift cards.
A British man has spoken out after being conned out of £200 by scammers using AI-generated deepfake videos of Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston declaring her love for him.
Paul Davis, 43, from Southampton, said he was “relentlessly” bombarded for months with fake messages on social media featuring convincing AI videos of Aniston, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
“I’ve got fake videos from Jennifer Aniston asking me for £200 and saying she loves me,” Davis said. He ultimately sent £200 in non-refundable Apple gift cards. He also received doctored images, including a fake Aniston driving licence and certificates supposedly from Facebook promising cash prizes.
“This has been going on for about five months,” Davis added. “Someone I know has spent over a grand on Apple gift cards for scammers.”
AI expert Dr Jennifer Williams warned that scammers are exploiting advanced technology to make phishing attempts more convincing than ever. “This is a classic phishing scam – but with a terrifyingly modern twist,” she explained, urging people to watch for signs like pixelated images or odd phrasing.
Davis, who struggles with depression, says he hopes his story will alert others to the dangers of AI-driven fraud.