Host and Producer Deidre Reynold

Think you’d recognize a romance scam? My feature with Crime World warns of new AI tricks that can fool even the most sophisticated dater. #onlinedatingtrends #romancescams #crimeworld

Irish singles lost an eye-watering €2.8 million to online romance scams last year, according to newly released figures from An Garda Síochána.

Between January and December 2025, heartless fraudsters swindled 88 men and women by masquerading as romantic prospects on dating apps and social media platforms.

Now, a leading relationship expert is sounding the alarm that the problem could worsen in 2026, warning that the rise of hyper-real AI catfishing may fuel an even more “insidious” wave of romance fraud.

Deidre writes, “Speaking to Crime World about the shock figures, US-based dating coach Susan Winter said: “It’s going to get harder and harder [to detect]. In the old days, it was like, ‘I can’t do a video chat because I’m in the middle of an oil rig outside Istanbul.’

Winter continues, “We’ve come a long way from a bunch of kids in an internet cafe trying to make some spare money. It’s a criminal empire. This is an organised, leaderboard, targeted [enterprise]. Imagine a huge centre with call boards and notes, and your conversations are tracked.”

Relationship expert Susan Winter warns the rise of AI will make romance fraud even harder to spot Photo: Dasha Dare

“They know your dog’s name, they know your aunt’s name, they have different people coming online to chat with you. They give you so much targeted information that they’re hoping it will override your sense [of], ‘Wait a minute, what’s going on here?’

And here’s where is gets even more difficult to discern the truth of who’s on the other end of the conversation.

Winter says, “Now [with AI] they can take an image of any human being they want… and have that speaking. They can create a voice that sounds just like a famous person. It’s like, ‘I was talking to Brad Pitt, he was talking to me’.

“There are even actors that are hired… young girls who come on and actually have a virtual conversation with you.”

New data also reveals that more than €9 million has been stolen through romance scams over the past five years.

A Garda spokesperson noted that since 2021, most victims who reported these crimes to An Garda Síochána were women, with an average loss of €27,000 each.

“The largest reported loss by a female victim in Ireland exceeded €450,000 across 18 separate transactions, while one male victim was defrauded of more than €380,000,” the spokesperson said.

They added that scammers typically create fake profiles using stolen photos on dating apps, social media, or online dating sites, then deliberately target and groom victims over an extended period to manipulate them into handing over money.

Continue reading the interview