Many people turn to dating apps and social media to find a connection as Valentine’s Day approaches, but a security expert is warning people against falling victim to possible E-dating scams.

Head of Security Advisory at BMO, Larry Zelvin, says fraudsters are now using tools like AI chatbots and celebrity deepfakes to manipulate those looking for love, and they’re banking on a person’s sense of embarrassment and shame to get away with their crimes.

He says some scams are even using local accents to bait potential victims.

“(In past) some of these calls you’re like, ‘this person doesn’t sound like they’re from Canada. They have some sort of, accent or there’s something that doesn’t seem right,'”

“But with AI, they can make it sound like you’ve grown up with them forever and they’ve lived where you’ve lived forever. So the credibility has gone up as the amount of attacks have gone up at the same time.”

Zelvin says many schemes have a sense of urgency involved, but with romance scams, people are often drawn in over time.

“They will take a longer time to get to know you, establish credibility, to build trust, perhaps even love, and then all of a sudden, there’s going to be some sort of disruption in their life. Either they have a medical issue, or they have someone else who has an urgent kind of need, and they’re going to ask you for money. So, they build up the credibility, they build a friendship or perhaps even love, and then all of a sudden that’s when they…steal your money.”

He suggests people who suspects they have been targeted in such a way to call local law enforcement.