Love scams get more sophisticated using AI warns CICC

With Valentine’s Day just days away, Filipinos are being cautioned against love scams that have recently become more believable and sophisticated through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Monday.

“Use your brain, not just your heart, because today, your soulmate might actually be a ‘scam-mate’ hiding behind a sophisticated algorithm—the script of deception,” Renato “Aboy” A. Paraiso, CICC’s acting executive director, said during the press conference for the agency’s Anti-Love Scam campaign.

“They use AI [and] they follow a script more polished than a teleserye (tv series). They build a fake relationship for weeks to gain your trust,” Mr. Paraiso said.

The CICC noted that scammers are leveraging AI in various ways, such as creating accounts with AI-generated photos and identities.

Perpetrators can come from anywhere, even offshore, as AI is already being used to craft scripts and automate conversations in many languages.

The agency also reported more sophisticated incidents where scammers use AI in video calls to alter their appearance, making scams more believable.

Jocel de Guzman, co-founder of Scam Watch Pilipinas, CICC’s partner for this year’s campaign, said monitoring love scams is critical as they serve as entry points for investment fraud, such as cryptocurrency, fake gold, and foreign exchange schemes.

2025 LOVE SCAM REPORT
In CICC’s 2025 love scam report, the agency said that a total of 123 complaints were recorded, with scammers victimizing the most during the month of January, ahead of “love month,” as well as during the “wedding month” of June.

More females were victimized according to the report, with 63 incidents recorded compared to 56 among males, while four incidents remain undisclosed.

Most victims are aged between 18 and 29, indicating that love scams can also victimize younger and tech-savvy individuals, the CICC said. Other affected age groups include those between 30 and 39 years old (38 complaints) and 40 to 49 years old (18 complaints).

The National Capital Region (NCR) comprises the highest number of love scam cases at 50.7%, while Region IV-A makes up 23.9%, and overseas cases tally 25.4% of the overall total.

The CICC also reported the social media applications most used by scammers: Telegram tops the list (31.7%), followed by WhatsApp (25.7%), Instagram (15.8%), Facebook and Tinder (11.9% each), and Litmatch (3%).

Mr. Paraiso noted that if a person you have only been talking to for two days on social media insists on moving to a private messaging app, it should be considered a “red flag.”
Meanwhile, a total of more than P20 million in lost funds was reported recovered from love scams in the same year due to the efforts of the CICC.

“AI, AI-AI FEB-IBIG” CAMPAIGN
To fight against love scams, the CICC also launched its 2026 Anti-Love Scam campaign during the forum with the theme “AI, AI-AI FEB-IBIG,” a pun on a famous Filipino song.

“This campaign is our way of fighting back. We are using education, humor, and digital literacy to remind every Filipino: mag-i-ingat sa AI na pag-ibig (be careful of AI love),” Mr. Paraiso said.

The CICC has launched several videos for the campaign on its social media platforms, along with a dance challenge and a TikTok filter.

The agency continues to encourage victims, or even those who have simply experienced love scam attempts and other cybercrimes, to call the CICC’s hotline at 1326. — Edg Adrian A. Eva