A Louisiana woman has lost more than $10,000 after a scammer used artificial intelligence to pose as rock star Jon Bon Jovi in a months-long online romance scam, according to Fox News.
Leslie Pickett, a longtime fan of the singer, began communicating with the impostor in late 2024 after commenting on an unverified Instagram account claiming to be Bon Jovi. She subsequently received a response from an account appearing to belong to the musician himself.
The messages arrived multiple times daily and included AI-generated videos that responded to her specific requests, such as particular facial gestures, as well as a live video call. The impersonator claimed the musician and his wife had quietly filed for divorce while keeping the matter secret to protect his public image.
After seven months of communication, requests for money began. Payments were presented as fees to the star's management for a meet-and-greet and were routed through cryptocurrency and payment apps including Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App. The initial small payments gradually increased in size until Pickett had lost over $10,000 and accumulated enough debt to put her home at risk of foreclosure.
Pickett's case is featured in the National Geographic documentary Super Scam Me, in which journalist Mariana van Zeller and a former hacker traced the scammer's internet address to Lagos, Nigeria. Van Zeller characterizes romance scams as the fastest-growing form of financial crime and notes that AI-generated videos from fake celebrities now appear significantly more convincing than previous deepfake technology.
