← the record
WF-HIW6GE

Scammer uses deepfake video to impersonate U.S. Admiral and swindle California widow of $287,928

An unidentified individual used a deepfake video to impersonate U.S. Navy Admiral Sean Buck on Skype, deceiving a widow from Santa Monica, California, into believing she was in a romantic relationship. Over four months, the victim wired nearly $288,000 to the scammer, who also posed as another person named Robert Ankeny. The funds have not been recovered, and a federal complaint has been filed.

Date it happened
2019-10-01
Where this came from
Share this incident
XLinkedInFacebookWhatsAppEmail
Attribution

This incident was imported from dailymail.co.uk. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.

This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.