A 49-year-old bricklayer sold his belongings before traveling 2,000 km by bus from his home in Brazil to meet “Jéssica,” an online influencer he had fallen for. Yet despite having a social media account with more than 300,000 followers, she never existed. Edimar Rocha Martins lives in Imperatriz, a city in northeastern Brazil. He says […]
A 49-year-old bricklayer sold his belongings before traveling 2,000 km by bus from his home in Brazil to meet “Jéssica,” an online influencer he had fallen for. Yet despite having a social media account with more than 300,000 followers, she never existed.
Edimar Rocha Martins lives in Imperatriz, a city in northeastern Brazil. He says he struck up an online conversation with Jéssica Fazendeira, who supposedly lived near the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte.
The AI persona promising love
The online persona’s name, “Fazendeira,” loosely translates as “female farmer.” She described herself as living on a farm.
Martins said that he had been talking with the persona online since 2020. He decided to visit her after she offered to pay for his trip and have him live on the farm with her, he said. The account’s operator disputes this, saying the character was created in 2025 and denying any private messages with him.
A video posted on one of her online accounts (captured here by Brazilian news service Imirante) asked for a man to come and live with her and offered to fund the trip.
The AI-generated farmer says, translated:
I’m not joking, my intentions are serious. I want to meet someone who wants to build something real and beautiful with me. If you’re a simple man who likes peace and quiet and a calm life, then maybe we’d get along really well.
After selling his possessions to fund the bus trip, Martins arrived in Belo Horizonte and began asking about the woman. Unable to find her, he approached a local radio station, where staff explained that she was an AI-generated character.
Without enough money to return, he received food, support, and a bus ticket to Augustinópolis, in Tocantins, from the city’s migrant assistance service. He later returned to Imperatriz, where he stayed with relatives.
The account’s operator hits back
The account’s administrator posted a message through the AI character’s TikTok account denying any kind of scam. Translated, it said:
This profile is pretty much abandoned, but I’ve come here to state the obvious. I’m made of artificial intelligence, and I’ve never talked to anyone on this profile. The aim was to get engagement for sales. I never spoke directly to anyone, much less brought anyone to Belo Horizonte.
The operator told reporters that the character was created to attract viewers and promote products through affiliate sales. They said they did not know whether other people had reused the character’s content on other accounts.
Another video shows messages people have reportedly sent the account, with the character explaining that it keeps telling viewers it’s an AI. It complains:
And then it’s still my fault, right? These people are lost.
In another video, where it is being interviewed by an AI-generated male character, the persona explains that it deactivated and then reactivated its account. It said:
I was the first AI to get canceled for absolutely nothing.
These are scripted responses published through a fictional character, rather than an AI independently defending itself.
Police said they could not establish at that stage whether a crime had occurred.
One outlet reported that Martins has been struggling with loneliness following his mother’s death.
Videos published to the reactivated TikTok account are labeled as AI generated. It also links to an Instagram account with videos of the character, where videos carry similar labels. Those current labels don’t establish what Martins saw before his trip.
Social media already encourages parasocial relationships, where viewers feel a personal connection with someone who doesn’t know them. AI-generated personas add another complication: The person viewers feel connected to may be entirely fictional.
In our Face value report, 88% of adults surveyed said it’s becoming harder to tell what online content is genuinely human or real.
The AI plot thickens
June saw reports of a 72-year-old man who traveled 4,000 km from his home in Boa Vista to … Belo Horizonte. He visited after seeing a farm woman on a social network who was offering a job opportunity and perhaps something more. Unable to return home, he sought help from social workers.
In August, 71-year-old Alberto da Costa traveled from Manaus to the same city after watching videos featuring the same woman, according to Itatiaia. He paid almost R$3,000 for a flight, then sought help from the outlet when he couldn’t afford to return home.
The videos simulated personal conversations, giving viewers the impression that the woman was speaking directly to them. The account reportedly had nearly a million followers.
The reporting doesn’t establish whether this woman was AI-generated or whether the account was connected to Jéssica’s. Nor does it establish that the men sent money to the account operators. But the costs can still be real: selling possessions, paying for travel, and finding yourself stranded far from home.
Protect yourself and others
The same advice applies here as to romance scams, but with some extras. Don’t send money or travel to see someone you’ve never met without independently checking who they are.
Don’t rely on video calls alone. Scammers now use deepfake video calls to dupe victims live. And check whether you’re exchanging private messages or watching public videos that anyone can see.
Look for information beyond the account itself. Search their name and profile pictures, and research where they say they work. Be cautious if their story doesn’t add up or they avoid questions about their identity.
When you feel close to someone, questioning that connection can be difficult. Before sending money or booking travel, talk to a friend or family member and get their perspective. And if you’re worried about someone who may be in a similar situation, check in without judgment and offer to look through the account together.
Images courtesy of Jam Press
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About the author
Danny Bradbury has been a journalist specialising in technology since 1989 and a freelance writer since 1994. He covers a broad variety of technology issues for audiences ranging from consumers through to software developers and CIOs. He also ghostwrites articles for many C-suite business executives in the technology sector. He hails from the UK but now lives in Western Canada.
