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A French girl who believed she was in a romantic relationship with A-list actor Brad Pitt was scammed out of $855,000 as a part of a year-long scheme involving an AI-generated model of the 61-year-old star.
Anne, a 53-year-old French inside designer, detailed her expertise in an interview with French tv present Seven to Eight on France’s TF1 channel, France 24.
She advised the French station that she was first contacted by somebody on-line claiming to be Pitt’s mom, who advised her that her son “needed someone like me” they usually communicated with one another for greater than a yr.
“At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous,” Anne defined on Seven to Eight, in keeping with U.Ok. paper The Times. “But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”
The scammer used AI know-how to seem just like the Oceans Eleven actor and despatched personalised pictures and messages, which made her consider the interactions had been actual. She then despatched €10,000 (almost C$14,794) after they requested her to pay customs tariffs so she may obtain presents he claimed to have despatched her.
After reportedly telling the particular person she was talking to that she not too long ago divorced her husband, Anne ended up sending nearly all of her divorce settlement of round €775,000 (C$1,146,469) to the scammer after he alleged he wanted a kidney therapy and wanted a mortgage as a result of he was unable to entry his financial institution accounts because of his ongoing divorce proceedings with ex-wife, Angelina Jolie.
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Anne was despatched AI-generated photographs of Pitt in hospital beds to assist confirm his id. She additionally claimed that she divorced her husband so she may proceed pursuing her relationship with Pitt.
“I was in love with the man I was chatting to,” she stated on Seven to Eight, in keeping with The Guardian. “He knew how to speak to a woman.”
She solely realized what she had performed after she noticed the information of Pitt’s relationship with Ines de Ramon, which led to her submitting a police report over the AI rip-off.
“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this?” she advised Seven to Eight. “I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.”
After the episode aired on Sunday evening, TF1 pulled it from additional circulation attributable to all of the memes and cyberbullying that started because of the knowledge she shared.
“The story broadcast this Sunday has resulted in a wave of harassment against the witness,” TFI presenter Harry Roselmack posted on X on Tuesday. “For the protection of victims, we have decided to withdraw it from our platforms.
A spokesperson for Pitt released a statement following the news of the romantic scam involving the likeness of the actor.
“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities,” a spokesperson for Pitt stated in a press release. “But this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence.”
This isn’t the primary time there was a romance rip-off involving Pitt. Last September, 5 folks had been arrested in Spain following an internet romance rip-off centred across the actor.
Two girls had been conned out of over €350,000 (C$487,800) after they had been contacted by means of an internet fan web page devoted to Pitt and posed because the Fight Club actor.
The scammers had satisfied the 2 victims that they had been Pitt by means of numerous instantaneous messages and emails, main the ladies to consider they had been in romantic relationships with the actor. Then, they’d ask for cash to spend money on phony industrial initiatives allegedly involving Pitt.
Authorities revealed that the 5 suspects had been charged with fraud and cash laundering and Spain’s Interior Ministry reported it was in a position to get well €85,000 (C$127,600) of the unique sum misplaced by the 2 victims.
—with recordsdata from Global News
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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