What you need to know:
A French woman, Anne, was scammed by a man who posed as Brad Pitt, obtaining $85,000 from her under false pretenses.
A remarkable story of deception has come to light, where a woman in France was scammed by a man claiming to be the famous actor Brad Pitt. The scammer used AI-generated photos to convince the woman that he needed money for kidney surgery, ultimately obtaining several thousand euros from her.
The 53-year-old woman, Anne, shared her story on a French television program, but unfortunately, she was met with ridicule and criticism. As a result, the channel decided to remove the segment from its website and reruns. Some of the photos used by the scammer were of poor quality, which has raised questions about how convincing they were.
Subject impersonates Brad Pitt and scams woman
Anne was tricked by a man posing as Brad Pitt, who obtained $85,000 from her under the pretext of having his accounts frozen due to his divorce from Angelina Jolie. The scammer also told her that he needed money for kidney surgery.
For several months, Anne received photos of Brad in the hospital, before, during, and after the surgery. She also received poems and messages of love that convinced her that she had a relationship with the actor.
The scammer proposed to Anne, and she immediately requested a divorce from her then-husband. However, upon seeing photos of Brad with his current partner, Inés de Ramón, she began to suspect that it was all a scam.
Although there were some previous signs, the scammer never had time for a call. All their communication was through photographs and messages. Despite being a millionaire, he had to send him money for his ‘frozen accounts.’ The relationship lasted almost two years.
Anne went to the authorities once she realized it was all a scam. Sadly for her, it was highly unlikely that she would be able to recover the money she sent to the scammer.
Anne show removed from French television
Anne told her story on the show Seven to Eight on TF1 channel. She confessed that she was not in good health and that she was being treated for serious depression. After her participation, she received a lot of criticism and ridicule, so much so that the network decided to remove the program from the air and from repetitions on its website.
Although some people may find it ‘funny’ or even ‘ridiculous,’ we cannot ignore the reality of AI and how a photo created with artificial intelligence can be taken as real. So, yes, be very careful with the things you see online and confirm several times until you know if it is real or not.