“Gullible”, “too big to be true”… The affair sparked strong reactions on social networks. But the result is there: Anne, a fifty-year-old from Var, was the victim of a scam of several hundred thousand euros thinking that she was having a virtual relationship with Brad Pitt.
A story that ruined his life. During a year and a half of exchange with this fake Brad Pitt, she paid 830,000 euros. If many “grazers” use the scam of feelings, others tend to usurp the identity of stars and ride on their notoriety to soften their victim.
A well-established process that Leslie, a hunter of “grazers” who hacks the accounts of these unscrupulous scammers, deciphered for us.
“They are looking for links between the star and their victim”
If some have the impression that the grazers are committing mass scams, this is a preconceived idea. Their victims are targeted and perfectly analyzed to find out what their connection is with the chosen celebrity.
“Usually they go to forums or celebrity accounts and spot people commenting on photos or on fan forums, where some share their admiration for the stars”says Leslie. “This is what we call in their language the “BahaStar”, which means the “work of the stars”. These are the terms learned over time by the hunter who came into contact with different grazers, pretending to be one of their own.
“The process is the same, there is making contact and building trust with the victim. They are very strong because they manage to detect that it is the fault, it can be emotional, loneliness or even illness … Some people find out if people have animals to find topics for discussion and common interests“.
-In Anne’s case, loneliness and emotional distress were a barrier. But one link caught the grazer’s attention: geographic location. The common point between American actor Brad Pitt and Anne D. is none other than the Var department. A little over an hour’s drive separates Angelina Jolie’s ex-husband and the places where the mother grew up between her childhood and adolescence.
“They say what everyone dreams of hearing”
“At the beginning, it’s standard exchanges and then they make themselves omnipresent. They care about the person and then it’s love bombing with big declarations of love. They say what everyone would dream of to hear and they speak to vulnerable and fragile people emotionally and morally”, she specifies. A specific phase where the grazers have texts already ready which they perfect according to the victims’ responses.
Then comes the moment when the trap closes on the victim. “Once they feel that the victim has gained confidence, they will ask for money”explains Leslie. They will ask for sums left and right, which in total sometimes reach hundreds of thousands of euros as in Anne’s case. D.
A method applied to the letter by the different grazers, and an increasingly sophisticated organization which allows photo montages, voice imitations, borrowing foreign telephone numbers… Techniques, reinforced with artificial intelligence, which increases the credibility of comments and makes victims increasingly vulnerable.
Related News :