‘100 Video Calls Per Day’: Models Are Applying to Be the Face of AI Scams
March 18, 2026

(Wired) – Dozens of Telegram channels reviewed by WIRED include job listings for “AI face models.” The (mostly) women who land these gigs are likely being used to dupe victims out of their money.
A WIRED review of dozens of recruitment videos and job ads posted to Telegram show people from around the world—including Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and multiple Asian countries—applying to be AI models or “real face” models in Cambodia and Southeast Asia. The region has become home to vast, industrialized scamming operations that hold thousands of human trafficking victims captive and force them to run online cryptocurrency investment and romance scams. (Read More)