A woman from France became a target of a sophisticated scam that utilized artificial intelligence and impersonation, making her think she was in a relationship with Hollywood icon Brad Pitt.
During this time, the 53-year-old woman known as Anne paid €830,000 (£697,000) to assist with what she believed was cancer therapy for the actor.
The nightmare started in February 2023 when Anne, an interior designer, got a message on social media from an individual who claimed to be Brad Pitt’s mother, she informed French channel TF1, as reported by the Daily Mail. The individual reached out after seeing Anne’s posts regarding an extravagant ski vacation in Tignes, which apparently caught the fraudster’s eye.
Soon after, Anne got a different message from an account pretending to be Brad Pitt. The impersonator asserted that Pitt’s “mother” had praised her greatly. This sparked the start of what Anne referred to as an unexpected friendship, characterized by heartfelt messages and warm affirmations that earned her trust.
“There are so few men who write you this kind of thing. I liked the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, it was always very well done,” she said, BFMTV reports.
While Anne was initially wary, she grew more at ease once the scammer provided her with AI-created images and videos of Brad Pitt, which heightened the believability of the ruse.
Shortly thereafter, the impersonator of Brad Pitt proposed to Anne and assured her lavish presents. Nonetheless, there was a stipulation: she would have to cover customs charges to get them. These demands totaled €9,000 (£7,566). As Anne had consented to pay this specific sum, such monetary requests gradually rose.
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After Anne revealed to her “friend” about an upcoming large divorce settlement from her wealthy husband, the con artist took advantage of the situation to raise their demands.
The conman asserted having an urgent need for money for kidney cancer treatment, stating that they couldn’t access their funds because of a claimed ongoing divorce from Angelina Jolie.
To add credibility to the story, the scammer sent Anne AI-generated images of Brad Pitt confined to a hospital bed. Despite their regular exchanges of texts and photos, the scammer consistently avoided phone or video calls.
