A California widow was defrauded of approximately USD 287,000 by a romance scammer who used deepfake technology to impersonate US Navy admiral Sean Buck.

This scam began in the fall of 2019 when the victim "M.M." joined an online dating site around six months after her husband had passed away. Over several months, she developed a relationship with "Buck", who claimed to be stationed on an aircraft carrier in the Middle-east. 

The scam escalated when M.M. was also in contact with another supposed suitor, "Robert Ankeny," who claimed to be in trouble while building a hospital in Turkey. M.M. sent Ankeny USD 20,000 to help him, believing he was in danger after a construction accident. 

Buck then assured her he could help Ankeny but requested that she liquidate her accounts and wire the funds to a lawyer in New York, who would then send the money to Turkey. This manipulation led M.M. to send multiple payments to Buck totaling USD 287,928. 

The FBI noted that this case marked a significant example of deepfake technology being used in romance scams, which traditionally involve scammers establishing trust over time before requesting money.