AI romance scams cost Coloradans millions

This Valentine’s Day, the “catfish” has evolved.

Colorado residents scrolling through dating sites aren’t just dodging suspicious profiles with blurry photos; they’re facing a new generation of scammers who are using artificial intelligence to manufacture intimacy with terrifying precision.

According to recent FBI data, romance scams cost Coloradans nearly $16 million per year. While the emotional toll is immeasurable, the financial devastation is driven by long-term scams that culminate in fraudulent cryptocurrency payments.

The traditional red flags of online dating, such as poor grammar or a refusal to show one’s face are disappearing. Ron Kerbs, CEO of Kidas, a company specializing in AI driven voice and text analysis, warns that scammers are now weaponizing generative AI to bypass a victim’s natural skepticism.

Beyond text, scammers are now using:

• Voice cloning: Using just three seconds of audio to mimic a person’s voice for “emergency” phone calls.
• Deepfake video: Real-time face-swapping technology that makes video chats feel authentic.
• Fabricated finance: Sophisticated, fake crypto-trading platforms that show “real-time” gains to lure victims into investing their life savings.

The primary weapon in the scammer’s arsenal is “love bombing” — an explosion of affection and attention designed to override a victim’s logic. Kerbs notes that this tactic is particularly effective against older adults experiencing loneliness or young adults just entering the dating scene.

“If the conversation starts, and you start getting love bombed, it’s probably not an actual interaction,” Kerbs said. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

For younger targets, the scam often turns to extortion. Scammers may transition a conversation to an unmonitored platform like WhatsApp or Telegram, encourage the exchange of private photos and then demand “hush money.”

While the technology is new, the motive is old. Kerbs highlights several red flags that should never be ignored, including refusing to meet in person, transitioning the conversation to financial advice or investment “tips” within the first few weeks of a relationship, and irreversible payments, such as requests for cryptocurrency or gift cards.

“I don’t want people to freak out about it,” Kerbs said. “These days, most people meet online. I would just suggest that people look very carefully at the relationships that are starting to talk about financial information or investment without meeting in real life.”