Incident 1105: Michigan Woman Defrauded in Alleged Tinder Romance Scam Using Purportedly AI-Generated Video Calls

Description: A Michigan woman, Beth Hyland, was reportedly defrauded of $26,000 in a romance scam conducted over Tinder, in which the perpetrator, "Richard," used purportedly AI-generated video technology during Skype calls to build trust. The scammer, allegedly part of Nigerian Yahoo Boys networks, reportedly posed as a French construction manager and claimed to need funds for legal and translation services. Hyland reportedly sent funds over several months. She later spoke at a U.S. Senate hearing on dating app fraud.
Editor Notes: The earliest reporting on this incident is dated 02/10/2025, which is the date used for this incident ID. However, the events described (particularly the initiation of the relationship and the financial losses)reportedly began months earlier. The exact start date of the scam is not specified in available sources.

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Incident Stats

Incident ID
1105
Report Count
4
Incident Date
2025-02-10
Editors
Daniel Atherton
Romance Scam: Woman lost $26K to lover who claimed to be Indiana businessman
wrtv.com · 2025

INDIANAPOLIS--- Beth Hyland found love online.

The Portage, Michigan woman met her boyfriend Richard on the popular dating app, Tinder.

Richard worked as a project manager for a construction company in Fort Wayne.

They texted and talked on …

Victims of 'romance scams' turn to Congress for help
nbcnews.com · 2025

WASHINGTON --- Four years after getting divorced, Beth Hyland, 54, decided it was finally time to start dating again. She had never used dating apps, but her work colleagues had found luck meeting significant others online.

"So, I thought I…

Deepfake romance scam leaves woman $26,000 in debt
khaleejtimes.com · 2025

Beth Hyland thought she had met the love of her life on Tinder‭.‬

In reality‭, ‬the Michigan-based administrative assistant had been manipulated by an online scam artist who posed as a French man‭ ‬named‭ ‬'Richard'‭, ‬used deepfake video o…

Deepfake Romance Scam Leaves Woman $26,000 In Debt
menafn.com · 2025

Beth Hyland thought she had met the love of her life on Tinder‭.‬

In reality‭, ‬the Michigan-based administrative assistant had been manipulated by an online scam artist who posed as a French man‭ ‬named‭ ‬'Richard'‭, ‬used deepfake video o…

Variants

A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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