Woman sends N1.3bn to yahoo boy after he sent her fake Brad Pitt photos
- A woman from France was involved in a tragic scam, which led to her losing £697,000 (approximately N1.3bn) to scammers
- The scammer posed as Hollywood actor, Brad Pitt and tricked the woman into sending the huge sum of money for a cancer treatment
- She shared how she was deceived by AI-generated images of the actor and messages from the actor’s alleged mother
A 53-year-old French woman named Anne said she was tricked into sending £697,000 (approximately N1.3bn) to someone pretending to be Hollywood actor, Brad Pitt.
Anne, an interior designer, claimed the scam started in February 2023 when she received a social media message from someone claiming to be Pitt’s mother.
The scammers sent her AI-generated photos of the actor in hospital bed. Photo: LADbibleSource: UGC
In a report by LADbible, the woman said she got a message from another account posing as the actor himself.
The message, according to Metro, read:
“Hello Anne, my mother told me a lot about you. I would like to know more.”
Anne was struggling with her marriage then and found comfort in the messages, the report unveiled.
Speaking to French media outlet, BFMTV, she said:
“In fact, we’re talking about Brad Pitt, I’m falling from the clouds. At first, I tell myself it’s fake, but I don’t really understand what’s happening to me. After that, we will contact each other every day and we become friends.”
She described the fake Brad Pitt as charming and persuasive, saying:
“There are so few men who write you this kind of thing. I liked the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, it was always very well done.”
Scammer demands money for cancer treatment
The scammer, under the guise of Brad Pitt, told Anne he needed money for cancer treatment.
He claimed his divorce from Angelina Jolie left him unable to afford medical bills, the LADbible report added.
To make the story believable, the scammer sent AI-generated pictures of “Brad Pitt” in a hospital, holding cards with personal messages.
She said they never spoke on the phone, as the alleged Brad Pitt always claimed to be too busy.
Woman sends money to scammers
After months of chatting, Anne agreed to marry the scammer after receiving £652,310)from her divorce.
Anne sent all the money to the fake account as the scammer promised luxury gifts, like Chanel and Hermès bags, but demanded an extra £7,575 for customs fees, according to Daily Mail report.
The woman grew suspicious when she saw Brad Pitt in public with his new girlfriend, Ines de Ramon. She hired investigators, and the truth came out.
She landed in hospital after the truth unfolded, reportedly battling severe depression. It remained unclear if she would recover any of her lost money.
According to the report, French authorities have launched an investigation into the case.
Read more stories on scammers
Scammers hack Nigerian bank, steal N10 billion
In a related story, a Nigerian court in Abuja ordered the freezing of 818 bank accounts suspected of receiving proceeds of crime.
The court order said the accounts were under investigation for an N10 billion cyberattack on Hope Payment Service Bank.
The court issued a 30-day freezing order to help the bank recover the funds that had been moved into the accounts in a July cyber heist.
Source: Fox Nigeria
