A French girl, Anne, was scammed out of a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars} after being tricked into believing she was in a relationship with Hollywood actor Brad Pitt.
The rip-off started with messages from accounts posing as Pitt and his mom, utilizing AI-generated photographs of the actor to construct belief.
The fraudster claimed Brad Pitt wanted cash for most cancers therapy, exploiting Anne’s vulnerability, who, regardless of warnings, continued sending cash till realizing the deception.
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French Inside Designer Falls Sufferer To Elaborate Romance Rip-off Involving Pretend Brad Pitt
A French girl was scammed out of a whole bunch of 1000’s of kilos after being tricked into believing she was courting Brad Pitt.
The 53-year-old sufferer, recognized as Anne, was deceived into sending €830,000 ($850,000), supposedly to assist the actor’s most cancers therapy.
In line with the Daily Mail, Anne, an inside designer, shared with French community TF1 that the rip-off started when she acquired a message on social media from somebody claiming to be Pitt’s mom.
This adopted her posting pictures from an extravagant ski vacation in Tignes on Instagram. The subsequent day, one other account, pretending to be the “Combat Membership” actor himself, contacted her, claiming his mom had spoken extremely of her.
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Anne was fighting private points in her marriage to a millionaire on the time, and by February 2023, she had developed a detailed reference to the impersonator.
The scammer despatched her heartfelt poems and supportive messages, deepening her emotional attachment.
“There are so few males who write you this sort of factor. I preferred the person I used to be speaking to. He knew how you can speak to ladies, it was at all times very properly completed,” Anne admitted in an interview with BFMTV.
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How The French Lady Started Sending Cash To The Scammer
Anne admitted she initially suspected the account could be faux, however after day by day conversations and receiving AI-generated pictures and movies of Pitt, her doubts progressively light.
What started as a seemingly harmless friendship quickly escalated when the impersonator proposed marriage and promised Anne luxurious items.
Nevertheless, there was a catch—she wanted to cowl customs charges to obtain these presents, which shortly amounted to €9,000.
Seeing Anne’s willingness to ship cash, the scammer continued making more and more outrageous calls for.
When Anne confided that she was anticipating a hefty divorce settlement from her husband, the fraudster seized the chance.
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Posing as Pitt, they claimed to be in pressing want of funds for kidney most cancers therapy, alleging they could not entry their very own cash attributable to a divorce battle with actress Angelina Jolie.
To make the story extra convincing, the scammer despatched AI-generated photographs of Pitt showing weak and bedridden in a hospital.
Regardless of their fixed texting and photograph exchanges, Anne famous that the impersonator was by no means accessible for a cellphone or video name.
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The French Lady’s Daughter Tried To Warn Her About The Rip-off
Anne finally misplaced almost a million euros to the frilly rip-off. Regardless of repeated warnings from her daughter, she remained satisfied of the connection, insisting, “You may see when he is right here in individual, then you definately’ll make an apology.”
Her perception solely started to waver in the summertime of 2024 when pictures of the true Pitt together with his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, surfaced within the media.
Sensing her rising doubt, the scammers shortly despatched Anne a fabricated information alert denying Pitt’s relationship with de Ramon, claiming he was secretly concerned with a mysterious “very particular individual.”
The deception deepened when somebody posing as an FBI agent contacted Anne, providing to rescue her from the rip-off for €5,000. Determined for an answer, she despatched the cash.
The Lady Has Been Hospitalized For Extreme Melancholy Over The Brad Pitt Rip-off
Drained financially, Anne was pressured to promote all her furnishings and transfer in with a pal. In a ultimate try and handle her spiraling state of affairs, she launched a web-based fundraiser to cowl mounting authorized charges.
In line with TF1, Anne tried suicide thrice earlier than being admitted to a specialised clinic for extreme melancholy.
As soon as Anne totally grasped the extent of the rip-off, she reported it to authorities, triggering an official investigation.
Nevertheless, almost two years later, it stays unsure whether or not she has recovered any of her misplaced funds. BFMTV stories that Anne remains to be hospitalized, grappling with the devastating aftermath of the ordeal.
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Netizens Are Divided Over Lady Scammed By Pretend Brad Pitt
Public response to her story was combined; some expressed sympathy, whereas others felt it was her fault for getting defrauded.
One person on X (previously Twitter) commented, “Romance scams are the cruelest.”
One other shared, “I had a pal that went by way of an analogous state of affairs and acquired photos like this, however it was Jensen Ackles needing $10,000 for surgical procedure.”
Others had been extra crucial, questioning how she did not confirm the claims. Somebody wrote, “She could not have googled ‘Brad Pitt hospital’? There would have been a minimum of one article.”
On the harsher facet, one person remarked, “Truthfully, in the event you fall for this considering, Brad Pitt, of all folks, goes to randomly DM you. You kinda deserve it.”
One other stated, “I do not understand how people who find themselves so silly to get that a lot cash.”
