Margot, the daughter of the woman aged around fifty, defrauded by a grazer, speaks for the first time to Ophélie Meunier in “La Grande Semaine”, broadcast this Saturday on M6.
It was a real media storm that fell on the family. But also a wave of particularly violent and virulent cyberharassment. In a report broadcast by the show 7 à 8 on TF1, Anne, a Frenchwoman aged around fifty, told her story, which had become a real ordeal. This mother, who lives in Reunion Island, was defrauded of 830,000 euros by a scammer – a scammer who is rampant on the Internet and particularly on social networks – posing as the famous American actor Brad Pitt.
For several months, the victim was deceived by photos generated with artificial intelligence and other identity documents. Almost a week after the broadcast, Margot, Anne’s daughter, spoke for the first time to Ophélie Meunier’s microphone on the set of “La grande week”, broadcast this Saturday January 18 on M6.
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“It’s very complicated and psychologically hard”
Since Sunday, the fifty-year-old has been the target of particularly violent online harassment, mocked and insulted by hundreds of thousands of Internet users. A particularly difficult situation for those close to him, especially his daughter. “It’s very difficult for me, since everything that affects my mother necessarily affects me. We are still very close,” explains the young woman.
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After the report was broadcast, she was found by Internet users, who also harassed her. “Obviously, with everything that was happening, I received a lot of messages, a lot of hatred, well, a lot of very nasty messages that went against my mother,” she regrets.
Then she talks about her state of mind and her situation. “Obviously, it makes me feel worse. It’s very complicated, very difficult psychologically and morally to get up in the morning and tell yourself that your mother is on social networks,” breathes Margot.
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For his mother, “it’s a descent into hell”
On social networks, the more the days pass, the more the insults accumulate. “It’s very complicated not to shed a tear after what we’ve been through,” admits the victim’s daughter.
The affair has crossed French borders. “When you are so close to your mother and you are exposed like that in front of everyone, in front of all of France and then internationally, it’s very difficult,” adds Margot, who says she accepted the interview to “deny” what has been circulating.
Asked about the state of health of her mother, who was ruined and who made three suicide attempts after her fraud, the young girl answers. In complete transparency. “There, it’s the descent into hell. Already, after all this story, for a year and a half, it was very complicated for her and for us, quite simply,” she insists.
“She does not deserve what is happening to her, she does not deserve to be manipulated already and she does not deserve all this hatred on social networks,” she insists once again.
An investigation into fraud opened in France
Highly publicized, the affair came to the attention of Brad Pitt’s entourage, who warned his fans against scammers using his image.
“It’s terrible that scammers are taking advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities,” a spokesperson for the actor told Entertainment Weekly on Tuesday.
For her part, after the complaint filed by Anne in Reunion, an investigation into fraud was opened. Now, police officers from the financial brigade, responsible for the investigation, are seeking to locate the accounts that received the transfers.
