A veteran manga artist was swindled out of more than $500,000 by a scammer who claimed he was Mark Ruffalo.

Chikae Ide was contacted on Facebook by someone claiming to be the Bruce Banner-Hulk Avengers actor, who built an online romance and used deepfake technology for video calls. 

The fake Hollywood scammer asked for thousands of dollars claiming he had money troubles and needed cash for a plane ticket and hospital bills. Ide's daughter intervened to help stop the swindler. Ide reported the 3 1/2-year ordeal that cost her 75 million yen to a nearby police station in June 2021, the culprit is still yet to be found. 

The 74-year-old decided to turn her heartache into a novel and manga, Poison Love, in hopes of helping others realise the dangers of online international romance scams and also to make money to pay her friends back who she borrowed money from for the deepfake con artist.

Who created the deepfake?

Unknown

Was the content disclosed as a deepfake?

No

Was the deepfake consensual?

No

How was the deepfake created?

Real-Time Deepfake Software