- within Accounting and Audit, Consumer Protection and Real Estate and Construction topic(s)
Romance scams, traditionally involving fake online personas used to deceive victims, have existed for many years. With the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence tools ("AI Tools"), these scams have become more sophisticated and harder to detect. Today, scammers can create highly realistic fake profiles, images and personalised messages at scale, allowing them to manipulate victims far more efficiently than before.
Romance scammers
Romance scammers have long used dating platforms to extort money, often by building emotional trust and then coercing victims into making payments or sharing intimate and personal images and messages. Under the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020, such conduct constitutes fraud, which carries harsh penalties for including minimum prison sentences of 15 years for first time offenders.
With the emergence of AI Tools, these scammers can now generate more realistic profile photos, scripted conversations and even deepfake audio or video content. These tools allow scammers to build trust rapidly, automate responses and create a false sense of authenticity, making scams more difficult for users and platform moderators to detect.
Liability under South African law
Whilst South Africa does not have any laws specifically regulating the use of AI Tools (including the use of deepfakes), liability for romance scams is catered for under the common law crime of fraud and also under the crimes of cyber fraud and/or cyber extortion under sections 8 and 10 of the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020. South African common law defines fraud as the unlawful and intentional making of a misrepresentation that causes actual or potential prejudice. In the context of AI, this will amount to the use of AI Tools to fabricate identities, backgrounds, or conversations, where such scammers are making deliberate misrepresentations. Should this amount to a victim transferring money or purchasing gifts for the scammer, this will amount to fraud.
Section 16 of the Cybercrimes Act 19 of 2020 criminalises the sharing, distribution or publishing of intimate images without a person's consent. Often romance scammers rely on a user sharing personal and intimate images which can be used to blackmail the user into sending them money. Section 19(7) sets forth the punishment for such an office, which is a fine or imprisonment of up to 3 years or both a fine and such imprisonment.
Therefore, romance scammers will face potential liability for fraud, cyber fraud and/or cyber extortion under the Cybercrimes Act for the distribution of intimate images.
From a forensic perspective, tracing perpetrators can be particularly challenging, as deepfake content often lacks identifiable metadata and synthetic identities have no connection to real individuals. These difficulties are compounded when perpetrators operate from foreign jurisdictions where cooperation with South African authorities is limited.
How can you protect yourself?
Dating app providers should consider implementing the following measures to guard against romance scammers:
- Using AI algorithms to detect common scammer behaviours, such as 'love bombing', quick requests to move to other messaging apps (e.g., WhatsApp), or the sharing of suspicious links.
- Requiring mandatory or prompted photo verification processes to ensure the user matches their profile pictures, reducing the prevalence of stolen identities and making it difficult scammers to rely on AI generated profiles and deepfakes.
- Implementing pop-up safety notifications and, in some cases, pop-up alerts when a conversation triggers common red flags associated with scammers, warning users to never send money or share personal images and details.
- Accessible reporting and blocking tools allowing users to flag suspicious profiles, helping the app's moderation team remove, and prevent the creation of, fraudulent accounts.
In order to avoid becoming a victim of a romance scam dating app users should consider the following measures:
- conducting reverse image searches of pictures on user's profile;
- requesting a video or voice call early into the chat;
- being alert to any 'out of place' or strange details in the user's profile and messages;
- reviewing the user's biography and other account details;
- not engaging in conversations with the same user on other social media platforms; and
- avoiding sharing personal or sensitive information and never sending any money to other users.
AI‑enabled romance scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and widespread. It is therefore critical for both dating platform providers and users to remain vigilant and to adopt proactive safety measures. By combining technological safeguards, regulatory enforcement, and user awareness, the risks posed by these emerging AI‑driven scams can be significantly reduced.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
