the essential
The testimony of Anne, 53, scammed out of 830,000 euros by a fake Brad Pitt with whom she thought she was having a romance, has gone around the Internet. A hacker interviewed by the media “Legend” revealed, Tuesday January 14, that he had identified the grazer and blamed the negligence of the victim's bank.
This would be the biggest scam in the world involving a fake celebrity. Anne, 53, paid 830,000 euros to a fake Brad Pitt, with whom she thought she was having a passionate affair. To dispel his doubts, the grazer sent him fake selfies of the actor for several months using artificial intelligence.
Now ruined, Anne recounted her misadventure for the show Seven to Eighton TF1, the editing of which she recently deplored. Targeted by a wave of cyberharassment for her supposed naivety, the fifty-year-old nevertheless aroused the compassion of Marwan, founder of a network of hackers responsible for helping victims trace their grazer. The young man claims to the media Legend that an individual has been identified.
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She thought she was living a long-distance love story and was cheated out of €6,300 by a “grazer”
An imminent arrest
According to the French hacker, the scammer received Anne's money in bank accounts which he then distributed in cryptocurrencies. According to him, those responsible come from Benin, one of the countries with the most grazers alongside Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast. “They are young, between 20 and 27 years old,” he specifies.
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Cyberscams by “grazers”: how Ivory Coast became the epicenter of French-speaking scams on the internet
Marwan and his team allegedly managed to trace the postal address of the grazer in question “by sending him a booby-trapped link which he clicked on”. Result: the address of his house and his name are now known. “He should be arrested in the coming days,” says Marwan, who says he has notified the authorities.
Another American star used by the grazer
In addition to pretending to be Brad Pitt, Anne's grazer would usurp the identity of another American star to achieve his ends. It would be Keanu Reeves, also an American actor.
If their profile attracts so many browsers, it is because the two Hollywood stars do not have an account on social networks. A woman from Minnesota and two Taiwanese women have already been defrauded by the fake Keanu Reeves, using sentimental manipulation, according to the Los Angeles Times.
According to the French hacker's estimates, Anne's grazer would have caused around “thirty” victims, without specifying the identity of the star with whom he would have achieved his ends.
Anne on track to get her money back?
Will Anne's misadventure have a happy ending? The fifty-year-old, now homeless and hospitalized for serious depression, could recover part of her loss in the event of an error by her bank.
This is, in any case, what is said by the IT expert who accuses the establishment of negligence regarding his client's operations. “(His) bank did not respect the “Tracfin” contract which aims to control money laundering and (financing of) terrorism.” However, Anne made banking transactions abroad “without the bank making her sign anything,” he says.
The main person concerned intends to take legal action against her bank. In the description of her Leetchi kitty, launched to cover her legal fees, Anne indicated that the prosecutor of Reunion Island (where she lived with her ex-husband) was responsible for the case.
