AI-driven investment and computing power scams reported in Japan and China

Authorities in Japan and China have reported distinct cases of financial fraud involving artificial intelligence and social media platforms.

In Aomori Prefecture, Japan, a man in his 40s lost 720,000 yen to a scam involving AI-generated videos of celebrities promoting investments. The victim was lured from TikTok advertisements to messaging apps like LINE and Signal. After initially seeing profits from recommended stocks, he was pressured to install an investment app that supposedly used AI to automate trading. He realized he was being defrauded after the app made unauthorized purchases exceeding his balance and an AI tool suggested the situation was a scam.

In another incident, a 30-year-old woman lost approximately 2.1 million HKD after being deceived by a man she met on a dating app. The perpetrator claimed to be from Taiwan and convinced her to purchase AI 'computing power' through a fraudulent website to create short videos for commissions. Although the fake platform showed accumulated profits, the victim was unable to withdraw funds after being asked to pay a 20% processing fee. The suspect subsequently disappeared.