Sent Selfies and ID, Called "Honey"... Woman in Her 50s Scammed Out of 500 Million Won by "AI Lee Jungjae"

Scam Involved AI-Generated Selfies and Forged IDs
Police Investigating Possible Links to Cambodian Organization

A woman in her 50s lost 500 million won to a romance scam that utilized AI-generated fake selfies and forged identification cards. Following last year's Elon Musk impersonation scam, a new wave of frauds exploiting celebrity identities is on the rise.

Materials sent by a group impersonating Jung-jae Lee. Screenshot from JTBC Newsroom

On October 21, JTBC reported that a woman in her 50s, identified as Ms. A, who resides in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, was defrauded of 500 million won by someone impersonating actor Lee Jungjae.

According to the report, the incident began in April. The impersonator contacted Ms. A through the social media platform TikTok, introducing himself as actor Lee Jungjae and saying, "I wanted to reach out to communicate with my fans." He then built rapport by talking about filming for the Netflix drama "Squid Game 3" and moved the conversation to KakaoTalk.

Ms. A said, "I'm someone who doesn't even have time to watch TV, but he kept insisting he was really Lee Jungjae and asked me to trust him." The impersonator gained her trust by presenting an AI-generated "airport selfie" and a forged ID card with an incorrect date of birth. Afterward, he introduced another accomplice, described as "management," who began making financial demands.

The management accomplice told Ms. A that they could arrange a direct meeting with Lee Jungjae and requested 6 million won. When Ms. A refused, saying, "I don't want to pay to meet someone," the impersonator tried to persuade her, saying that he would resolve everything once they met.

After Ms. A sent the money, the scammers continued to extract tens of millions of won from her under various pretexts, such as issuing a VIP fan meeting card and covering airport detention release fees. The impersonator broke down her psychological defenses by calling her terms of endearment like "honey" and "darling," behaving as if they were in a romantic relationship.

Ms. A said, "He promised to pay everything back when he arrived, so I believed him," but added, "If he were really Lee Jungjae, he wouldn't go this far," expressing her distress. It is reported that over the past six months, Ms. A transferred a total of 500 million won.

After the Miryang Police Station in South Gyeongsang Province launched an investigation into the case, the impersonator sent Ms. A a message asking her to "trust him." The South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency, which has taken over the case, is pursuing all possible leads, including potential connections to an organization based in Cambodia, as they track down the romance scam group.