For a week, Anne, 53, has been the victim of cyberharassment after her testimony broadcast on the show Seven to Eight last Sunday; on TF1, where she says she was defrauded of more than 800,000 euros by a fake Brad Pitt. Marwan Ouarab, founder of Find My Scammer, claims to have found the counterfeiters and tells us of his intention to “collaborate with the justice system” which has opened an investigation to identify the authors. According to him, Anne would have wanted to testify anonymously, which was not respected by TF1, which has since deleted the content from its platforms.
How is Anne?
“Anne is very bad. She was the victim of mockery after the broadcast of this report, which went around the world. She was transformed into the same. »
Does she regret publicizing her story?
“She was not the one who publicized his story. She was approached by a journalist from Seven to Eight who had learned of this scam when she was hospitalized in Reunion following a suicide attempt. Anne had expressly requested that her face be blurred and her name camouflaged, just like Sandrine, her friend who we also see in the report. The report [dans lequel Marwan apparaît aussi, NDLR] was released against our will. I therefore sent a formal notice to Elephant et Cie, the production company, on January 12, for denigration. Anne was really very saddened by the editing that Seven to Eight did. They used vacation photos of her, although she had not authorized them to do so. They took them from his Facebook. »
Will Anne file a complaint for defamation?
“Complaints are being drawn up. The objective is to stop this campaign of cyberharassment, which is destroying Anne, who is already very fragile and has attempted on her life several times. »
“I saw Anne’s bank accounts. »
Why did you want to help her more than anyone else?
“Anne’s story is very touching. It is that of a mother who had everything to be happy, but who divorced her husband, fell into a severe depression and fell in with a crook. These are the journalists ofSeven to Eightwho put us in touch in mid-November 2024 so that my company could find its scammer. But Anne has no money. So my company investigated for free. I also paid her lawyer’s fees (4,000 euros have already been spent on Mr. Hanna) and we continue, because Anne is also represented by another lawyer, a little more expensive. »
Voices are raised and assure that Anne’s story is false. That she would have used the media. She has even appeared on TV in the past… what do you say?
“These are people who fantasize. Their entire statements can be contested. We have to stop the fantasies. I, the file, have been living it from the beginning. I saw Anne’s bank accounts. »
How long did it take you to identify the fake Brad Pitt?
“This investigation mobilized two people from my teams and myself for a week and a half. On an investigation like this, the bill would have been rather steep. »
-How much ?
“I prefer not to answer. »
What method did you use?
“We only used open source intelligence methods. These are legal intelligence methods which consist of retrieving information online, which is available but which you must know how to retrieve. We sent an IP logger, a trapped link which consists of making the user click. From the moment he clicks on the link, we receive all the information about his internet connection and his GPS location. We trapped the scammer thanks to this link. From the IP address and GPS coordinates, we were able to collect other, much more in-depth information, such as the identity of the person paying for the internet connection. »
“There were several who acted to scam Anne”
But how did you identify the grazer before trapping it with this famous link?
“Anne gave us all the information (email addresses of the scammers, telephone numbers, accounts on social networks and payment traces). We sent our trapped link to these addresses. And they bit. When we met, she was still in contact with her crook. She knew she had to maintain this contact so as not to lose track of this crook. »
Was he alone or operating in a group?
“There were several who acted to scam Anne. They are very young and based in Nigeria. »
Will you collaborate with justice?
” Obviously. I was contacted this Saturday morning by Ofac (Anti-Cybercrime Office), attached to the Ministry of the Interior. I will be received in their offices. I would like to explain to them how we worked and give them a demonstration so that they understand the process. »
Is Anne likely to get her money back?
“Yes, that’s what we hope, because failings have been observed at the banks. Proceedings could be brought against these banking establishments in order to obtain reimbursement. The lawyers are reassuring on this point. »
