In brief
- A San Jose widow lost nearly $1 million after a scammer posing as a romantic partner pushed her into fake crypto investments.
- The victim asked ChatGPT about the investment claims, and the AI warned her that the setup matched known scams.
- Regulators say relationship-based crypto schemes remain one of the fastest-growing forms of financial fraud.
A San Jose widow who believed she had found a new romantic partner online instead lost nearly $1 million in a crypto “pig-butchering” scam, and only realized it after asking ChatGPT if the investment offer made sense.
The scheme drained her retirement accounts and left her at risk of losing her home, according to a report by San Jose-based ABC7 News.
The woman, Margaret Loke, met a man…
