A woman in Greece was targeted in a phone scam in which fraudsters posed as Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and used artificial intelligence to make a video call appear to come from him.
The woman, identified as Vivi and a resident of Kalamos, told Greek broadcaster MEGA that the callers promised her €26,000 but then demanded an upfront payment to supposedly open an account and transfer the money.
She said she immediately realized that the offer was too good to be true and refused to pay.
Scammers posed as Prince Paul
According to Vivi, the scam began when a man called her cellphone and told her he would connect her with “Prince Paul.”
The caller then claimed to be Crown Prince Pavlos and said he wanted to help Greek citizens by giving selected people a substantial amount of money.
“I have chosen to give €26,000 to each one,” the caller told her.
Vivi said she initially reacted with disbelief.
“I smiled and said it is too beautiful to be true,” she recalled.
She was then told that a “cashier” would contact her. Shortly afterward, a man called her on Viber using a video call. Vivi said the background appeared to show an office resembling a travel agency.
The man asked for her personal details so the money could be transferred, before telling her there was one condition: She had to deposit €350.
When she refused, saying she did not have the money and questioning why she should pay it, the caller said the payment was needed to “open the account.”
The scammers later lowered the amount they demanded to €280.
“Are we going to bargain now?” Vivi said she responded.
She told the caller that she was a pensioner and did not have the money.
AI-generated video used to build trust
The scammers then encouraged her to borrow the money.
Vivi said she instead suggested that the €280 be deducted from the €26,000 she had supposedly been promised, “Deposit €26,000 minus the €280,”
The scammers rejected the proposal and continued to insist that she make the upfront payment.
At one point, they arranged another Viber video call in which Vivi saw the person presented as Prince Paul.
She said the image looked like a photograph, with only the mouth appearing to move.
“I couldn’t hear you,” she recalled telling the person.
The scammer then claimed that he was far away and had a poor connection, saying the video call was intended to convince her that he was really Crown Prince Pavlos.
Vivi said she immediately recognized that the image had been generated using artificial intelligence.
She again refused to pay and told the callers that the supposed fee should be deducted from the promised €26,000.
Calls continued for about a month
Despite her refusal, Vivi said the scammers continued contacting her for about a month.
The person posing as the “cashier” repeatedly called or sent messages asking whether she had found the money and whether she was doing well.
She said she stopped responding and eventually blocked the numbers.
