THE foundation representing the heir to the Spanish throne has warned that fraudsters are using AI-generated videos of Princess Leonor on the popular social media site TikTok to swindle victims out of hundreds of euros.
In a statement, the Princess of Asturias Foundation said: “The foundation does not have any programmes offering financial help, subsidies for projects, lotteries or any other monetary operations for the benefit of individual citizens.
“Equally, the Princess of Asturias does not offer financial help via the foundation and any message or profile that suggests the contrary is fake.”
The intervention follows an investigation in 2024 by newspaper El Pais which looked at fake videos posted on TikTok where a smiling ‘Leonor’ promises users thousands of dollars in payment in return for an upfront fee.
Some of the videos had been viewed over a million times.
Once the upfront fee – normally a few hundred dollars – has been paid in full, the scammer typically demands more or disappears.
READ MORE: Princess Leonor of Spain begins final year of military training at Air Force academy
The investigation found that all the accounts used in the scam were based in the Dominican Republic.
El Pais approached TikTok, which says in its rules and regulations that the platform ‘does not allow accounts that cheat or try to manipulate our platform, nor an exchange of services that artificially increase interaction…including behaviour such as undercover operations to influence or to supplant identity’.
But when the accounts were reported, TikTok replied: “We have determined that the reported content is not in breach of our regulations.”
The Princess of Asturias Foundation has called on social media companies to immediately remove all fake profiles and strengthen verification protocols to prevent further abuses of Leonor’s identity.
It also urged the public to be cautious and verify that any account claiming to be the Princess is genuinely affiliated with official channels before responding or interacting with messages.
One victim told El Pais they lost around $800 in the scam.
“I thought I was talking to Leonor,” said Juana Cobo, a 39-year-old mother-of-two from Guatemala.
“They sent me a message on TikTok saying I was talking to Princess Leonor and that I had won $100,000 but I needed to pay a tax of 2,220 quetzales [$250] to free up the money,” she explained.
After she paid, Cobo coughed up an additional $150 for ‘legal fees’ and made an additional payment before finally realising she was being led up the garden path.
“When I told them they were swindlers they disappeared, they blocked me, I didn’t hear from them again,” she said.
The eldest daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, Leonor became heir to the throne in 2014 following the abdication of Juan Carlos I.
She assumed the full title of Princess of Asturias, Princess of Girona, Princess of Viana, Duchess of Montblanc, Countess of Cervera and Laby of Balaguer.
Should she become queen, Leonor will become Spain’s first female ruler since Isabella II, who ruled until 1868.
Later this year, the 20-year-old will complete her three-year course of military training.
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