A French woman fell victim to an elaborate scam that involved artificial intelligence and impersonation, leading her to believe she was dating Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt.
In the process, the 53-year-old woman, identified as Anne, ended up paying €830,000 (£697,000) to help with what she was told was cancer treatment for the actor.
The ordeal began in February 2023 when Anne, an interior designer, received a message on social media from someone claiming to be Brad Pitt’s mother, she told French channel TF1, according to a report published by the Daily Mail. The contact followed Anne's posts about a luxurious ski trip to Tignes, which seemingly attracted the fraudster’s attention.
Shortly after, Anne received another message from an account posing as Brad Pitt himself. The impersonator claimed that Pitt’s "mother" had spoken highly of her. This led to the beginning of what Anne described as an unlikely friendship, filled with poetic messages and kind affirmations that gained 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.
Although Anne was suspicious in the beginning, she became more comfortable after the scammer sent her AI-generated photos and videos of Brad Pitt, making the deception more convincing.
Soon after, the fake Brad Pitt ended up proposing to Anne and promised her luxurious gifts. However, there was a catch: she would need to pay customs fees to receive them. These requests added up to €9,000 (£7,566). Since Anne had agreed to pay this particular amount, such financial requests eventually increased.
After Anne confided in her “friend” about an impending hefty divorce settlement from her millionaire husband, the scammer seized the opportunity to increase their demands. Claiming to need urgent funds for kidney cancer treatment, the fraudster explained that they were unable to access their own money due to a supposed 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.
During their ‘relationship’, Anne lost nearly one million euros until she became suspicious after seeing Brad Pitt with his new girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, in the press. What Anne did next was obvious as she approached the authorities with the story, as an investigation followed.
Anne is currently hospitalised in a clinic, with severe depression, BFMTV reports, as per the Daily Mail article.