Jun 28, 2025

Like Read Time: min Feedzai has commented on the rising threat of romance-investment fraud schemes after a federal lawsuit was filed against Citibank, alleging the bank failed to prevent a $20 million scam orchestrated through an AI-assisted relationship hoax. Feedzai’s remarks emphasize the growing complexity of detecting such threats as they evolve with AI tools capable of replicating believable online personas. The firm argues that conventional anti-fraud systems that focus on static rules or traditional red flags may no longer be sufficient to detect these schemes in time. “Banks need to adopt collection and analysis of highly detailed and specific data points” Tejal Kaur, Fraud & Identity SME at Feedzai, commented, “Romance scams have turned into highly sophisticated operations, powered by AI-generated profiles and conversations mimicking genuine human emotion. They aim to build trust over time, manipulating victims with a level of personalisation and realism that makes detection more and more difficult. “Financial institutions face the dual burden: they need to protect the customer trust while carrying the financial impact of these crimes. To stay ahead of such complex threats, banks need to adopt collection and analysis of highly detailed and specific data points to create an in-depth profile of an individual or entity. AI-driven detection strategies are capable of uncovering subtle behavioural patterns, taking apart mule networks receiving victims’ money and stopping fraud while supporting the integrity of their customer relationships throughout.” The comment follows a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court by Michael Zidell, who claims Citibank ignored clear signs of fraud as he unknowingly wired millions to a fraudulent NFT trading platform. Zidell says he met a woman named “Carolyn Parker” through Facebook in early 2023. According to the complaint, Parker gradually built a romantic relationship with him before persuading him to invest in a digital asset platform called OpenRarityPro. Zidell allegedly made 43 wire transfers totaling over $20 million to accounts connected to the scheme. He said he was instructed to divide the transactions across various banks due to supposed high client activity. By late April, the platform disappeared along with the funds. The complaint states that Citibank processed 12 of the transfers, amounting to around $4 million, directed to an entity named Guju Inc. Zidell accuses the bank of failing to review abnormal patterns such as large, round-number transfers and frequent movement of funds between personal trusts and business accounts, which he says should have prompted internal scrutiny under anti-fraud protocols. Such scams fall into the category of “pig butchering,” a method where fraudsters combine emotional manipulation with investment fraud over an extended period. These schemes often rely on deepfake visuals, chatbot conversations, and well-structured narratives to create trust. According to Chainalysis, cryptocurrency-related frauds accounted for $9.9 billion in 2024, with a significant share driven by romance-related cons. Cyvers estimated that over $5.5 billion was lost last year to scams involving emotional manipulation tied to financial schemes. The U.S. Secret Service recently announced the seizure of $225 million connected to such operations, marking its largest crypto asset recovery to date. Feedzai has positioned itself as a solution provider for financial institutions facing these advanced threats. The company offers AI-native tools that track transaction behavior and customer activity patterns in real time to flag emerging risks without relying on outdated rulebooks.