For many years, scammers have been exploiting dating apps and messaging platforms to target victims looking for companionship. Romance scams affect people of all ages and backgrounds, but older individuals, former military personnel and those seeking financial arrangements are among the most vulnerable.

In November last year, Meta said it had identified and removed more than two million accounts in 2024 connected to romance scams.

Many were conducted from Southeast Asia, especially in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines.

Love hurts

Scammers deploy various tactics, from impersonating service members using stolen photos to orchestrating fake “sugar mummy and daddy” schemes, luring victims into fraudulent financial transactions.

Others entice victims into adult video chats that require paid registrations, generating illicit profits in the process.

More recently, scammers are thought to be leveraging generative AI to refine their messages, making their deception more convincing than ever.

Grammar and spelling are no longer a barrier for scammers who are harnessing the power of AI to craft sophisticated, emotionally compelling messages and profiles on dating apps in a variety of languages that make their scams more believable and harder to detect.

The most dangerous form of romance scam today is ‘romance baiting,’ previously known as ‘pig butchering’ — a translation of the Chinese phrase “Shāzhūpán” used to describe a type of financial scam.

In these long-term cons, scammers establish fake relationships to build trust before convincing their victims to invest in bogus cryptocurrency or stock platforms. This method has now overtaken other romance scams in terms of prevalence and financial impact.

Romance scams: Life savings lost

People have lost their life savings to romance scams, and it’s heartbreaking. In January, a French woman revealed she had been tricked out of GBP700,000 after falling for a scammer who convinced her they were the famous actor, Brad Pitt.

The sad reality of these schemes is that the victims are often blamed for falling for the scammers’ con. In truth, these scams are highly manipulative and exploit vulnerabilities that anyone could fall for.

Now, recovering stolen funds is notoriously difficult, particularly when cryptocurrency is involved. Historically, scammers would steal money from traditional finance (tradFi), such as banks and credit unions. However, tradFi has better recourse for recovering stolen funds, whereas cryptocurrency is decentralised, making it much harder to claw back a victim’s money.

To make matters worse, other scammers swoop in by targeting victims, posing as recovery agents who promise to retrieve lost funds — for a fee.

Protect your heart and your money

The best defence against these romance-baiting scams is scepticism. If someone you’ve never met in person asks for money, whether for a sudden emergency, a business opportunity, or an investment, consider it a major red flag.

If you believe you’ve been scammed, report the crime to your local law enforcement and cybercrime authorities immediately.

The writer is a senior staff research engineer at Tenable.

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DeepFest placed the spotlight on women tech innovators and their role in economic as well as the industry growth.

Co-located with LEAP, which is Saudi Arabia’s major tech event, a number of female industry leaders and entrepreneurs took to the DeepFest stage, championing the sector’s drive for gender equality.

Did you know?

According to a report by the World Economic Forum, it will take 131 years to close the gender gap across all sectors, and only 28 per cent of women feel confident in managing long-term financial plans, compared to 44 per cent of men.

Women and financial independence

In an enlightening session titled ‘Breaking Barriers: Women Leading the Charge in Tech and AI’, Wafa Al Obaidat, founder and CEO of Playbook, a professional network for women in business that offers access to business and investment opportunities, shared her personal journey with money, from growing up with a fear of finances to recognising its potential as a tool for growth and empowerment.

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“When women have financial independence, families flourish, communities thrive, and entire economies grow,” said Al Obaidat. “Companies perform better when women have access to capital, invest, and take control of their financial future. This isn’t just about fairness—it’s about smart economics and unlocking the full potential of half the world’s population.”

She also highlighted the systemic challenges women in business face towards accessing funding and financial opportunities, citing statistics on the gender investment gap and the low percentage of VC funding directed to female-founded startups. “Playbook addresses these challenges by providing a platform for women to connect, learn, and invest. We offer masterclasses, expert coaching, a startup marketplace featuring female-founded ventures, and networking opportunities designed to fit the lives and schedules of busy women.”

Robots, tech couture, and AI doctors: DeepFest 2025 to showcase the future in Riyadh

“It is truly inspiring to see all these incredible and successful women take to the DeepFest stage and so openly share their personal journeys, challenges, and successes with the industry. We are seeing a much-needed shift in how female tech leaders are being championed, and the stories coming out of the show floor this week are a testament to the importance of collaboration, connections, and dedication”, Annabelle Mander, Executive Vice President of Tahaluf added.

AI: How will it power the future of entertainment

Dr Christina Yan Zhang, CEO of The Metaverse Institute, asked attendees in her session, which focused on how AI and brain-computer interfaces will power the future of entertainment, to imagine a world without phones or computers, where the digital and physical domains are accessed through thought alone, using brain-computer interfaces (BCI).

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“The future of entertainment, and indeed human experience, will be seamlessly interwoven with our minds.” said Dr Yan Zhang. “Brain-computer interfaces, moving beyond their current medical applications like restoring mobility to a disabled patient, repairing vision through things like Neuralink, or treating patients with depression with a 60 per cent improvement result will become the ultimate user interface.”

Dr Yan Zhang looked at potential real-life use cases that are plausible in the future, even referencing the Marvel universe, where humans and technology have effectively become one being. “Far from the existential threat posed by AI, these advancements will empower us. Like Tony Stark and his Jarvis in the movie Ironman, we’ll each use a non-invasive BCI to connect with our AI companion, enhancing our abilities and connecting us in unprecedented ways,” she said.

“We do not need phones or computers any longer. This symbiotic relationship with AI, facilitated by BCIs, will not only revolutionise entertainment but also massively reduce the 62 billion kilogrammes of e-waste generated every year, as mentioned by the UN, ushering in a more sustainable future for all”, Dr Yan Zhang emphasised.

Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai said that the Chinese tech company will partner with Apple on AI for iPhones sold in the China market, while speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Thursday.

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“They talked to a number of companies in China. In the end they chose to do business with us. They want to use our AI to power their phones. We feel extremely honoured to do business with a great company like Apple,” Tsai said.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Rolling out AI tools in China is crucial for Apple as iPhone sales dipped in the holiday quarter, usually the US firm’s biggest period of sales. AI features are the chief selling point of its latest devices in other countries but were missing from models in China where regulations require a local partnership.

Alibaba has become a Chinese AI favourite among investors early in 2025, with its stock price up over 40 per cent so far this year.

The firm in late January released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model whose functionality it said surpassed that of DeepSeek-V3, which caused a stir earlier this year for its capability and low cost.

Elon Musk said on Thursday his AI chatbot, and ChatGPT challenger, Grok 3, is in the final stages of development and will be released in about a week or two.

“Grok 3 has very powerful reasoning capabilities, so in the tests that we’ve done thus far, Grok 3 is outperforming anything that’s been released, that we’re aware of, so that’s a good sign,” he said in a video call addressing the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

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The billionaire tech mogul founded xAI as a challenger to Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Alphabet’s Google. Musk also co-founded OpenAI.

On Monday, a consortium of investors led by Musk said it had offered $97.4bn to buy the assets of OpenAI’s nonprofit, in another salvo from the world’s richest man against the artificial intelligence startup.

OpenAI has said it wants to become a for-profit organization to secure the capital needed for developing the best AI models.

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Musk sued OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and others in August and has asked a U.S. district judge to block OpenAI’s attempt to transition to a for-profit entity. OpenAI said this week Musk’s bid clashes with his lawsuit.

“I think the evidence is there in that OpenAI has gotten this far while having at least a sort of dual profit, non-profit role. What they’re trying to do now is to completely delete the non-profit, and that seems really going too far.”

Musk, who was appointed by US President Donald Trump to oversee the so-called Department of Government Efficiency aimed at dramatically reducing the size of the federal workforce, said government spending could be reduced by $1tn or more.

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“Maybe the economy could grow at 4 or 5 per cent potentially, in terms of real useful goods and services output, and government spending can be reduced by about 3 or 4 per cent of the economy, about maybe a trillion dollars or more, and the net effect of that would be no inflation from 2025 to 2026 so that would be quite remarkable,” Musk said.

UAE AI Minister Omar Al Olama, who was interviewing Musk at the conference, said they would partner on “Dubai Loop”, an underground high-speed transport system.

Turning to international affairs, Musk told the Middle East audience the United States has been “pushy” in the past and it should “mind its own business”.

“I think we should, in general leave other countries to their own business,” he said.

Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), aiming to identify and pursue strategic, high-impact development projects across emerging markets globally.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.

The MoU formalises a framework for collaboration that will leverage capital and expertise from both parties to fund impactful investments. The agreement will see ADQ and IFC explore co-investment opportunities in key sectors to drive sustainable economic growth.

ADQ to leverage infrastructure development experience

ADQ brings its proven track record in infrastructure development and supply chain resilience, while IFC offers its deep expertise in mobilizing commercial capital for sustainable investments. Together, the two organizations aim to identify and develop projects that bolster food security, promote agricultural innovation, and enhance healthcare infrastructure in emerging markets.

The partnership will also explore investments in critical infrastructure such as energy security, sustainability, transport and logistics, and real estate and urban development, to improve economic resilience, quality of life, and connectivity in developing regions. These investments are expected to foster greater competitiveness in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, MD and Group CEO of ADQ, expressed the significance of the collaboration, stating: “Partnering with IFC reflects our shared commitment to creating lasting value and driving sustainable impact across emerging and developing markets. By combining our strengths and expertise with IFC, we aim to extend the broad expertise of our portfolio companies to new markets. Our vision is to drive joint transformative infrastructure projects that have the ability to enhance the lives of communities while generating lasting value for local economies.”

Makhtar Diop, MD of IFC, highlighted the importance of sovereign wealth funds in driving sustainable growth. “This partnership underscores the crucial role of sovereign wealth funds in fostering sustainable growth in emerging markets. It also reflects the UAE’s leadership in driving South-South investments, enhancing economic cooperation, and creating opportunities globally.

“By combining IFC’s global expertise with ADQ’s strategic investments, we aim to mobilise private capital and accelerate transformative, long-term development across key sectors in emerging markets.”

ADQ: Strong regional presence

ADQ, established in 2018, manages a diverse portfolio spanning over 25 companies with operations across more than 130 countries. Its investments focus on vital sectors including energy and utilities, transport and logistics, food and agriculture, and healthcare and life sciences.

ADQ has a strong track record in building strategic alliances with governments worldwide, particularly in countries such as Egypt, Türkiye, Greece, Oman, and Jordan.

Meanwhile, IFC continues to support millions of people in emerging markets, providing access to electricity, improved sanitation, and greater food and nutrition security. Through strategic partnerships and innovative solutions, IFC’s initiatives continue to drive lasting economic and social impact worldwide.

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