Scammer Fools Women With 'AI Brad Pitt' Photos, Conning Them Into Sending $800K for Fake Hospital Bills
A French woman, identified as Anne, found herself entangled in a devastating scam that cost her a staggering $851,000 after parting ways with her millionaire spouse. The culprit behind this heart-wrenching ordeal? An AI-generated persona posing as none other than Brad Pitt.
Anne, a 53-year-old victim, was under the impression that she was assisting Brad Pitt in a time of need, but little did she know, she was falling prey to a distressing romance scam. She ended up forking out a substantial sum of 830,000 euros (equivalent to $851,355) under the guise of aiding with what she believed to be cancer treatment for the renowned Hollywood figure.
The elaborate deception unfolded when a scammer, utilizing a series of AI-generated images, successfully convinced Anne that they were the iconic actor, Brad Pitt. The unsuspecting interior designer recounted her harrowing experience to French channel TF1, revealing that the saga commenced with a message on social media purportedly from Brad Pitt's mother. This initial contact followed Anne's sharing of photos from a luxurious ski trip to Tignes on Instagram.
Amid a challenging period in her life, compounded by marital issues with her affluent husband, Anne found solace in an improbable friendship with the fraudulent account starting from February 2023. She received heartfelt poems and endearing messages, leading her to express admiration for the eloquence and charm of the individual she believed to be Brad Pitt.
A woman was scammed out of $800,000 by someone posing as Brad Pitt. The scammer sent her a DM on IG and convinced her with AI videos and edited images. She divorced her husband thinking they would be together. She realized it was fake when Brad Pitt appeared on the news with a… pic.twitter.com/9fCZVvthrO
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) January 14, 2025
Despite harboring initial doubts regarding the authenticity of the account, Anne gradually eased into the online relationship as she received daily messages, AI-generated photos, and videos purportedly from the Hollywood star. The scammer's efforts to win her trust escalated when they proposed to Anne and showered her with promises of extravagant gifts.
However, the facade began to crumble when the imposter requested Anne to cover customs fees to receive the promised gifts, which swiftly accumulated to a substantial sum of 9,000 euros ($9,231). With Anne already demonstrating a willingness to part with significant amounts of money, the scammer proceeded to make increasingly outlandish demands.
When the victim revealed to "Bad Pitt" that she anticipated a substantial divorce settlement from her husband, the scammer seized the moment to escalate their demands.
The fake Brad Pitt account proceeded to request financial assistance for urgent kidney cancer treatment, claiming an inability to access funds due to an ongoing divorce from Angelina Jolie.
The scammer reportedly began sending AI-generated images of the World War X star lying in a hospital bed to reinforce the story.
Anne noted that their communication was limited to texts and photos, but the scammer was consistently unavailable for phone calls—a typical tactic employed by online fraudsters.
In the end, she ended up losing nearly one million euros over the course of the relationship. Her suspicions were finally confirmed when she came across photos of the actor with his new girlfriend, Ines de Ramon.
