the essential
Anne’s misadventure, defrauded of 830,000 euros by a fake Brad Pitt she met online, brought the “grazers” back to the forefront. These “scammers” from abroad manage to trap their targets thanks to social networks and leave behind victims with heavy financial and psychological damage.
The crazy story went around the world, reaching as far as Hollywood. In tears, Anne implored the spectators of “Sept à Huit” to help her find the crook who stole 830,000 euros from her by pretending to be Brad Pitt. While romance scams have existed since the beginnings of the internet, they have been perfected in recent years thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). A technology which the “grazers” were able to seize, like Anne’s executioner who, among other things, used video manipulation to deceive his victim. These scammers manage to trick people online from abroad and extract money from them. Even though the phenomenon is global, the term “grazer” generally refers to cybercrooks operating from French-speaking West Africa, notably Ivory Coast.
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Targets spotted on social networks
The procedure is always the same: they “come into contact with a victim and gain their trust. The victim falls in love from a distance and there, they will ask for money, claiming in particular to want to reach the targeted person and need it to pay the plane or train ticket”, explains Jérôme Notin, general director of the Cybermalveillance platform. Scammers tend to target elderly and isolated people, divorced or widowed. Their hunting ground: the social networks favored by this audience, such as Facebook, but not exclusively. In the Anne case, the suspects came into contact with their victims on a site dedicated to Brad Pitt fans. Dating sites and emails are sometimes used.
The method is well established. Browsers “will publish images with a significant emotional charge, often generated by AI: a centenarian celebrating his birthday, a little boy building a huge sandcastle or even a religious sermon.” They will then spot their target among the people commenting on these photos and get in touch with them. “Scammers can talk for months with the targeted person before making their first request for money,” explains Jérôme Notin. And they won’t stop there: “they will try to recover everything that can be recovered. For a victim, that can represent a lifetime’s savings”, according to the cybersecurity expert. In Spain, five people were recently arrested for having taken 325,000 euros from two women by also pretending to be Brad Pitt.
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“Indoctrination”
In France, the phenomenon is difficult to quantify, with many victims not reporting themselves. On the Cybermalveillance site, the article dedicated to romantic scams records “between 100 and 150 visits per day”. “At the very least, these visitors do this research to remove doubts. But for others, we can consider that they are victims and that they are looking for advice,” estimates Jérôme Notin. The assistance platform also offers a support path: “we ask you a few questions about the threat you are facing and we give you appropriate advice,” he specifies. In 2024, 1,300 assistance courses were carried out. Figures equivalent to those observed in 2023.
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“Certainly, this scam is not the most widespread, on the other hand, the psychological impact can be catastrophic, judges Jérôme Notin. We have a person who has gone so far as to mortgage his house. Once the victim has entered this spiral, she no longer has enough perspective on the relationship to understand that she was scammed.” Anne, ruined by her swindler, has already attempted suicide three times in the past and is currently hospitalized for depression.
These scammers also seek to isolate their victim, underlines Jérôme Notin, comparing “the indoctrination method” to those observed in sects. He recommends being wary of someone advising you not to reveal your relationship to those close to you. Someone who doesn’t want to meet you, always cancels, or asks you for money is also suspicious.
