Research reveals artificial intelligence surpasses human scammers in trust-building for romance fraud schemes

Researchers from four international universities examined how artificial intelligence chatbots can be deployed in 'pig butchering' scams, a form of romance fraud that escalates to fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes. In their comparative analysis, the team simulated the fraud process by pitting AI chatbots against human fraudsters, focusing on the relationship-building phase that typically extends over months. The findings demonstrated that AI chatbots substantially outperformed their human counterparts in this critical phase, maintaining believable conversations that form the foundation of successful deception in these schemes.