Jon Bon Jovi impersonator uses AI videos to scam woman out of $10K, nearly costing her home | Latest Tech News
She gave love a likelihood. A scammer gave it a unhealthy title.
For months, Leslie Pickett thought she was speaking to Jon Bon Jovi, the rock star she had adored since she was 14.
The man behind the screen messaged her day and night time, despatched convincing videos and finally persuaded her to hand over 1000’s of {dollars}.
By the time the deception unraveled, she had misplaced more than $10,000 and got here close to dropping her home.
“My heart was shattered,” the Louisiana resident told Fox News Digital. “I was still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But there was nothing but ill intent. That’s what hurt the most.”
Pickett’s story is featured in the National Geographic documentary particular “Super fraud Me,” in which Emmy Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller goes undercover to examine online scams, touring to Africa to confront a suspected scammer face-to-face.
“We’re living in the era of scams,” van Zeller told Fox News Digital. “Romance scams, in particular, are the fastest growing, and I believe, most devastating form of financial crime out there. One in seven Americans have reported losing money to romance scams. And so, I think now is the best time to raise awareness.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Bon Jovi’s spokesperson for remark.
Pickett, who was “more of a Facebook person,” was launched to Instagram by her daughter.
Leslie Pickett thought she was speaking to Jon Bon Jovi, the rock star she had adored since she was 14.
She got here across Bon Jovi’s verified account in late 2024 and commented on one of his posts. Five minutes later, she obtained a response from an account that appeared to belong to Bon Jovi himself. However, the account wasn’t verified.
“He gave very thoughtful answers to my questions, so I genuinely thought it was him,” Pickett said. “And I wasn’t too knowledgeable about those check marks. I had doubts, but hey, a girl can dream.”
According to Pickett, the impostor told her Bon Jovi wished to join with his followers more personally. He also warned that if Bon Jovi’s management found the key account, it might be shut down.
For months, the 2 exchanged messages “several times a day and several times at night,” bonding over music and common pursuits. According to Pickett, the impostor remembered particulars from their earliest conversations, told her “I love you” and even despatched a bouquet of flowers to her home. He also despatched recorded videos, and the 2 finally related on a live video call.
Pickett, who had no concept he was generative AI to play the rock star, was satisfied she was speaking to Bon Jovi. The scammer also claimed that he and his spouse had quietly filed for divorce but had been conserving it under wraps to defend his public image.
Jon Bon Jovi performs onstage during Bon Jovi’s Forever Tour at Madison Square Garden in New York on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Bon Jovi
Pickett confirmed the images and videos to her cousin, who was skeptical that Bon Jovi can be in a secret relationship with a fan. But after seeing the photographs, he reportedly exclaimed, “That’s him! There’s no doubt about it.”
“It was like talking to my best friend,” Pickett said. “He said he wanted to meet someone normal. He didn’t want somebody that wanted fame, money and things like that. So, we didn’t really talk about stuff like that. We talked about everyday life. I had my doubts, but I was praying it was him.”
Months later, the person posing as Bon Jovi began asking for money.
“He had an exclusive performance in Nashville, where he only let a thousand people buy tickets,” Pickett recalled. “The show was legitimate. Unfortunately, I tried to buy tickets, but they sold out in four minutes. When I told him about it, he suggested a meet and greet. He had never asked me for money before. He said, ‘To get you in the meet and greet, you’re going to have go through management since there are no tickets left.’ He gave me emails to his management, and he walked me through how to do everything. I’ve never even heard of the word ‘crypto.’”
“That was a red flag, but the money was given with intent,” Pickett continued. “I was supposed to get something in return. Meet and greets are also a common thing with famous people so I didn’t see it as scammy at all. The bitcoin and crypto were the only things that made me go, ‘Why am I not logging into a regular site?’ He said, ‘Those get hacked all the time. This is the safest way to do it.’ He put me at ease.”
The requests for money began small but added up over time. Pickett despatched $100 or $150 at a time, only to be told the funds hadn’t gone through. The impostor then instructed her to ship bigger quantities through different fee strategies, including Venmo, PayPal, Cash App and cryptocurrency. When one technique supposedly failed, she would attempt another, sometimes staying up at night time making an attempt to determine out how to ship the money.
Mariana van Zeller poses behind-the-scenes with Daniel, Jeff and Kwesi in Accra, Ghana, Friday, July 17, 2026. National Geographic/Daniel Hollis Diamond
“Nothing felt abnormal until I realized the money wasn’t coming back into my account,” Pickett said.
Van Zeller described the scammer’s interactions with Pickett as a “slow burn.”
“At first approach, it started as a normal conversation,” van Zeller explained. “People think he approached her and said, ‘Hi, I’m Jon Bon Jovi. I’m madly in love with you. Send me money.’ That’s not the case. It took him seven months before he asked Leslie for money. Many people think, ‘How can you give money to a stranger?’ But for Leslie, and many other victims, this was at a point when he wasn’t a stranger. With some victims, they speak to scammers for months, even years.”
Advances in artificial intelligence made the deception even more durable to detect.
“I had the chance of watching some of the videos that the fake Jon Bon Jovi sent Leslie,” van Zeller said. “At one point during this experiment, I was dating three George Clooneys, several Brad Pitts and a few Keanu Reeves. A few sent me videos that were very bad, but some were very good. I received one video from a fake George Clooney that you can watch in the documentary that looked very real. These weren’t the old deep fake videos of the past that are full of distortions. These looked professional, believable.”
Journalist Mariana van Zeller investigated the scheme for her documentary particular and traced the scammer’s IP deal with to Lagos, Nigeria. National Geographic
“In the videos, he would say my name,” Pickett recalled. “He would send me videos all the time. One time, I told him, ‘Pull on your right ear, cross your eyes and stick your tongue out.’ He would send me that within five minutes. That’s how good AI is.”
In July 2025, the scammer told Pickett he was flying to Louisiana for a meet and greet. He despatched her images of himself seated at a desk in a lodge she acknowledged. The lighting fixtures, furnishings, carpet, utensils and even the serviette rings all matched.
According to Pickett, the scammer told her they needed to full a security clearance test through Google Chat before they might finally meet in particular person. When Pickett tried to be a part of the video call, he abruptly hung up. He texted her afterward, claiming there was a security breach because his management believed she was making an attempt to file the call.
The impostor then told Pickett that if she was keen to pay more money to his management, they might prepare another security test, and he would even stay in city for a while. This time, he requested a a lot bigger quantity of Bitcoin.
“At that point, I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is just not real,’” Pickett said. “That’s when my heart sank because I knew I had been duped. That’s when I decided to reach out to Mariana for help.”
Even after realizing she had been deceived, Pickett questioned whether or not the person she had been speaking to for months was somebody dwelling in the United States who genuinely cared about her — somebody who wasn’t only in money but wished a significant relationship.
From left, Vivian Campbell, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Jon Bon Jovi, Rick Allen and Phil Collen attend a ceremony honoring Def Leppard with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Hollywood, Calif. Getty Images
Van Zeller and Pickett teamed up with a former hacker who helped them hint the scammer’s web protocol (IP) deal with. The hacker set a entice designed to lure the impostor into claiming more Bitcoin. The IP deal with led them to Lagos, Nigeria. They then used Google Earth to establish what they believed was the home from which the scammer had been messaging Pickett.
By then, Pickett said she had misplaced “over $10,000” to the scam. She had fallen so deeply into debt that her home was dealing with foreclosures.
“I was devastated,” Pickett said. “By then I was starting to suspect he was fake. But when Mariana got confirmation, it rocked my world. He could have just come clean, but he just took advantage of my kindness. That’s what crushed me.”
Today, Pickett is still rebuilding her funds while working a full-time job. She said the emotional toll has been even more durable to overcome, leaving her struggling to trust others. She has also turn out to be an advocate for scam victims, utilizing social media to warn others about the risks of interacting with unverified accounts.
“My ultimate goal today is to slow it down and eventually stop this industry,” Pickett said. “It devastated my family. It devastated me. It put me in financial dire straits. It affected me emotionally. I wanted to crawl under a rock. No one should ever feel that way. I would never want anyone to go through what I went through.”
Stay informed with the latest in tech! Our web site is your trusted source for breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, gadget launches, software program updates, cybersecurity, and digital innovation.
For contemporary insights, knowledgeable coverage, and trending tech updates, go to us frequently by clicking right here.
