Alicante pensioner says he lost his savings to a romance scam whose photos and videos police told him were AI-generated of a woman who never existed

The feature (Levante-EMV, 25 September 2025; byline C. Suena, sourced from Diario Información, photographs EFE/Morell) reports that a 78-year-old pensioner resident in Alicante lost all his savings in barely three months to a romance scam created with artificial intelligence, convinced he was getting to know a 43-year-old doctor in Kazakhstan, and ended up sending a total of 8,800 euros. His wife died in 2022, a loss that put him into depression and two years of treatment; after the bereavement his therapists recommended that he socialise, open himself to new experiences and explore social networks. On 11 November 2024 he received an email from Ainur, a 43-year-old doctor in Kazakhstan who said she was looking for a serious relationship; with photographs and videos, in reality created by artificial intelligence, she won his trust, and when a friend tried to warn him of the fraud he turned his back on him. Requests for money soon began: first 2,000 euros for a plane ticket, then another 2,000 for unexpected expenses, later a supposed 10,000-euro deposit demanded by the Kazakh government to guarantee her return after visiting Spain; although he never managed to gather that figure he sent 8,800 euros in total, part of it from the sale of his flat in Benidorm (the remainder is not itemised). Hoping to meet her he bought a bus ticket to Madrid-Barajas to receive her at the airport, but mid-journey the last email arrived: she had been detained in her country for carrying a family icon, a work of art that could not leave Kazakhstan, and to free her a fine had to be paid or she would face prison. He began to suspect, went to the National Police, who confirmed what he feared: he had been the victim of a scam, the images and videos were false, created with artificial intelligence, and the woman had never existed. He now shares a flat with three other pensioners in Alicante, without money but willing to tell his story so that others do not fall into the trap, advising people to touch the hands of anyone they meet. The feature notes that the National Police warn of an upsurge in such frauds, which empty bank accounts and leave deep emotional scars on victims.

Antena 3 Noticias (24 September 2025, byline Adrián Ballesteros) published a separate interview with the same man, with different quotations. It states in its own voice that the woman does not exist and that the scheme was a trap created with AI. In this account the first message from "Ainur" arrived on 29 November 2024; she told him she was 43, a village doctor looking for serious men, and said she had seen him on social networks. He was surprised she contacted him by email, and after several weeks he asked to speak by phone; she declined, citing her phone company and a poor handset, and when a friend called this suspicious and he told her so, she sent him a video "para que no sospechara". He then sent 2,100 euros for tickets, 2,300 euros towards a claimed 10,000-euro visa cost, and 4,400 euros more raised as an advance from a relative who was paying him for a flat he had sold, 8,800 euros in all. She confirmed a trip to Madrid for the end of January; on the bus from Alicante he received a message that she had been detained at customs with a work of art that could not leave the country and needed 22,000 euros more. He sought a loan from financial institutions, which all refused, then contacted a television programme that examined the story and exposed the deception. He reported it at a police station, where, he said, the officer told him it was a textbook romance scam. Antena 3 reports that he lost his money and his home, having had to leave the rented flat where he lived, and is left with a monthly pension of 1,000 euros; he said he now lives in a shared flat, that it affected him psychologically, and that he has overcome it.

A bereaved 78-year-old lost all his savings (8,800 euros sent, part from the sale of his flat) over about three months to a romance scam built on AI-generated photographs and videos of a fictitious woman, and now shares a flat with three other pensioners; the loss and the police confirmation are his own account as told to the newspaper. The feature's remark that such frauds leave deep emotional scars is the National Police's general statement, not his account. In a separate Antena 3 interview he said the scam affected him psychologically but that he has overcome it, and Antena 3 reports that he had to leave the rented flat where he lived.

He reported the matter to the Policía Nacional, which confirmed he had been the victim of a scam and that the images and videos were AI-generated of a woman who did not exist. No arrest, recovery of funds or prosecution is reported. He lost all his savings (8,800 euros sent, part from the sale of his flat) and shares a flat with three other pensioners. A separate Antena 3 Noticias interview (24 September 2025) says a television programme he contacted exposed the deception and that he reported it at a police station, where the officer called it a textbook romance scam; it adds that he had to leave his rented flat, is left with a 1,000-euro monthly pension, and said the scam affected him psychologically but that he has overcome it.