An incredible affair has just made the rounds on social networks: a French woman, seduced by an imposter pretending to be Brad Pitt, was scammed out of 830,000 euros.
Anne, a 53-year-old interior designer, experienced a real descent into hell. Victim of a romantic scam, she believed for more than a year that she was having a relationship with American actor Brad Pitt. Using technologies such as deepfakes, the scammer skillfully manipulated Anne, taking advantage of her naivety to extract astronomical sums from her.
A precise scam
It all starts with exchanges on social networks, where Anne is charmed by poems and statements sent by the scammer. Very quickly, financial demands arrived: 5,000 euros for customs duties linked to “luxurious gifts” or even thousands of euros to cover imaginary medical care, such as dialysis and transplant costs.
The scammer, to make his story credible, used video and photo montages doctored using artificial intelligence. Images of “Brad Pitt” bedridden in a hospital convinced the fifty-year-old, who, in a testimony broadcast by the show Seven to Eightadmitted not having detected the deception.
The reaction of social networks
The affair, relayed in the media, provoked a flood of reactions on social networks. Many internet users made fun of Anne’s gullibility, making her the laughing stock of the internet. Others, more compassionate, point out the dangers of technologies. Deepfakes make scams more and more sophisticated.
Anne, ruined and depressed, now lives with a friend in Reunion. She launched an online fundraiser to finance her legal costs, hoping to obtain justice.
A global phenomenon
This story, although extreme, is far from an isolated case. In Spain, five people have been arrested for similar scams. They defrauded several women by pretending to be Brad Pitt. One of them lost 170,000 euros in 2022. These cases remind us of the extent to which vigilance is essential on the internet.
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