A scammer impersonating Brad Pitt has deceived another victim, this time a woman in France. By using doctored photos and flattering messages, the cybercriminal convinced a 53-year-old French woman named Anne that she was being courted online by the Hollywood actor. Over the span of a year, she transferred more than 800,000 euros (approximately ₹7 crore) to the scammer.
The individual posing as Pitt contacted Anne on Instagram and fabricated a story, claiming he needed financial assistance for medical treatment because his bank accounts were frozen due to his ongoing divorce from Angelina Jolie.
“Brad Pitt”
Anne shared with a local news channel that she first received a message from an account impersonating Brad Pitt’s mother, Jane Etta Pitt, while she was on a ski trip. The following day, “Brad Pitt” himself began messaging her, and the two quickly became friends. Anne, who was married to a millionaire but heading for divorce, continued to receive poems and declarations of love from the fake actor.
She soon believed she was in a long-distance relationship with the real Brad Pitt. “There are so few men who write such things. I liked the man I was talking to and he knew how to talk to women,” she told the media.
To sustain the illusion, the scammer never answered her calls but frequently sent AI-generated videos and images of himself to reinforce the belief that it was truly Brad Pitt communicating with her.
Faked kidney operation
After Anne’s divorce was finalized, she received a compensation of 775,000 euros. The scammer intensified his efforts, sending doctored videos and photos with Brad Pitt’s face, claiming that he was undergoing kidney surgery and needed money. He also promised to send her luxury gifts that never arrived, and the two even discussed getting married soon. Anne’s suspicions grew when she saw reports of Pitt’s relationship with jewelry designer Ines De Ramon.
The news had a profound impact on her, and she was hospitalized for severe depression. Eventually, Anne approached the police and filed a case against the scammer.
Anne was not the first woman to fall victim to the “Brad Pitt” scam. In September of the previous year, five individuals were arrested for scamming two Spanish women out of 325,000 euros. They posed as the actor on WhatsApp and targeted the women through a social media page for fans of the Oscar-winning star.
