AI-Powered Pig-Butchering Scam Exposed: 50,000 Victims in Two Weeks as Claude Model Creates Bulk Virtual Personas

In October 2026, a major AI-powered pig-butchering scam case busted by cybersecurity authorities exposed the application of artificial intelligence in the fraud field. The involved studio snared 25,000 users in just two weeks through a complete gray industry chain utilizing Claude large language models to create virtual personas in bulk. The case's resolution revealed the most difficult-to-recognize scam pattern currently prevalent - AI-customized romance fraud. The involved studio constructed a complete illegal gray industry chain, independently operating over 20 niche dating applications specifically targeting single, live-alone users with emotional void. Unlike traditional pig-butchering scams that rely on mass messaging, this operation employed precise user profiling strategies, using algorithms to identify individuals with emotional needs. Starting from April 2026, the studio began using Claude and other large language models to create virtual personas in bulk. The AI system could highly simulate real human tone, emotions, and chat styles, providing round-the-clock warm interactions with users. The operation adopted a "human-machine collaboration" model: AI handled daily text companionship and emotional comfort, creating perfect personas who were gentle, considerate, and value-aligned; real human teams only appeared at critical moments - video calls to confirm identity and induce users to top up or transfer money. The studio snared 25,000 users in just two weeks. The core reason for this precise hunting of such a large user base within a short time was the scammers' precise grasp of ordinary people's emotional gaps and loneliness psychology. Cybersecurity authorities, after receiving relevant clues, conducted timely analysis and investigation. Through data tracing, chat record comparison, and capital flow tracking, they successfully located the studio's actual operating location and personnel structure, ultimately destroying the fraud den and severing this AI fraud black industry chain.