Men and even women seeking real romance with ideal partners have paid over $46 million across Asia only to find out that they have fallen victims of deepfake love scams.

In a press conference held in Hong Kong, the police disclosed that they have arrested nearly two dozen members of the scam syndicate that have raked in huge money from men who were fooled on the internet by fake women that appeared to be real in cyberspace.

The financial hub police said 21 individuals have already been arrested and charged for various criminal offenses, including conspiracy to defraud people.

The suspects were arrested in the gang’s hideout in Hong Kong’s Hung Hom district.

Most of them were well-educated young people who are experts in digital media and technology. They are also being tied as the IT specialists behind a fake cryptocurrency platform.

The Hong Kong police disclosed that the gang behind the fake dating and romance application may have already amassed over $46 million from victims, most of them men looking for romantic relationship.

The victims hook up with the online scammers, not knowing that they are actually flirting with bogus women created with the help of AI process.

In the Philippines, scammers are still using real people who pose as lovers online in order to fool victims looking for love partners.

Earlier this year, police authorities rounded up hundreds of Filipinos and foreigners working as online lovers in a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) center.

The discovery of more POGO hubs doubling as online scam centers has prompted government to impose a ban on POGO operations, giving itself a deadline to end everything by the end of this year.