A British man has revealed how he was cruelly conned out of £200 – by what he believed was a heartfelt message from Friends icon Jennifer Aniston.

Paul Davis, 43, from Southampton, fell victim to a disturbing new wave of artificial intelligence scams after being bombarded with messages from deepfake celebrity accounts on social media.

The unemployed man, who suffers from depression, said he was ‘relentlessly’ targeted by AI-generated videos – including ones that appeared to feature Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and even the beloved sitcom star Aniston herself.

In one particularly cruel twist, Davis was sent an image of what looked like Jennifer Aniston’s driving licence, before she told him she ‘loves him’ and asked for money.

He said: ‘I’ve got fake videos from Jennifer Aniston asking me for £200 and saying she loves me.’

Tragically, Paul believed the message was real – and sent the money in the form of non-refundable Apple gift cards.

‘I’ve paid £200 and I was bitten. Once bitten, twice shy,’ he added.

The scam is part of a growing online menace, where advanced AI technology is used to create terrifyingly convincing fake videos of celebrities – all designed to con unsuspecting victims into handing over cash or personal details.

Paul Davis, 43, from Southampton, fell victim to a disturbing new wave of artificial intelligence scams after being bombarded with messages from deepfake celebrity accounts on social media

The unemployed man, who suffers from depression , said he was ‘relentlessly’ targeted by AI-generated videos including from Jennifer Aniston

In one particularly cruel twist, Davis was sent an image of what looked like Jennifer Aniston’s driving licence, before she told him she ‘loves him’ and asked for money

Paul said he’s been receiving dozens of messages every day, with scammers trying to fool him into thinking he’s won a ‘special prize’ – from a cash windfall to a luxury Range Rover 4×4.

Some of the videos even feature AI-generated versions of Facebook creator Zuckerberg declaring: ‘This is not a scam, believe me’ and insisting he’s a ‘genuine person.’

The fake messages are often accompanied by doctored certificates or phony ID cards designed to appear as though they’re from social media giants like Facebook.

Paul explained: ‘It’s been going on for about five months. I thought people would get into trouble for this, but these people seem to be having a laugh and getting away with it.’

He also revealed that he’s not the only one being targeted. ‘Someone I know has spent over a grand on Apple gift cards for scammers,’ he said.

Struggling with his mental health and unable to work, Paul admits the scams are taking a toll.

‘I can’t keep taking that sort of hit,’ he said.

The fake messages are often accompanied by doctored certificates or phony ID cards designed to appear as though they’re from social media giants like Facebook

He also revealed that he’s not the only one being targeted. ‘Someone I know has spent over a grand on Apple gift cards for scammers’

Messages between Paul and Jennifer Aniston

Paul has even received scam messages from Tesla owner Elon Musk claiming he has won half a million pounds

Now Paul wants to raise awareness and warn others about the sophisticated tactics fraudsters are using to extract sensitive personal information – including bank and credit card details

Some of the videos even feature AI-generated versions of Facebook creator Zuckerberg declaring: ‘This is not a scam, believe me’ and insisting he’s a ‘genuine person’

In a similar case, Janet Smith, 62, genuinely believed she was talking to Take That singer Gary Barlow for about a week, after she added him as a friend on Facebook  

The fake Gary bombarded her with compliments and messages and said he had ‘split up’ – which Janet took to mean from his wife

Screenshots show how the scammer told Janet ‘my heart chooses you’ and asked her to keep a secret 

A scammer duped a French woman into paying out hundreds of thousands of pounds after convincing her they were Brad Pitt with reels of AI-generated images 

Now, Paul wants to raise awareness and warn others about the sophisticated tactics fraudsters are using to extract sensitive personal information – including bank and credit card details.

Dr Jennifer Williams, an AI expert at the University of Southampton said that this is a classic phishing scam – but with a terrifyingly modern twist.

‘The scammer would input details like the victim’s name (obtained from various sources) into an AI model to generate the image, refining it until it appears convincing,’ she said.

In Paul’s case, he was sent a ‘certificate from Facebook’ claiming he’d won £500,000 and a car – but in reality, it was a digital fake created by AI.

‘The goal is to get the victim’s home address under the guise of ‘delivering’ prizes like a car or a non-existent Facebook Mastercard,’ Dr Williams explained.

Once a relationship is established, scammers often request victims to purchase gift cards – and then send them the codes.

Dr Williams warned people to stay vigilant and watch for telltale signs such as odd phrasing, highly pixelated images, and suspicious wording like ‘don’t be afraid’ – all designed to provoke an emotional response.

She also said to be wary of different pixelation patterns around names, which can indicate they were digitally altered.

And perhaps most importantly – Facebook does not give away large sums of money or luxury vehicles.