French woman defrauded of $850k in romance scam

A 53-year-old French woman has fallen victim to a romance scam in which she thought she was helping out a sick Brad Pitt. The scam initially began with messages on Instagram from someone claiming to be Brad Pitt's mother, followed by messages from an alleged Brad Pitt filled with poems and expressions of love. The woman was suspicious at first, but was eventually swayed by AI-generated images and videos of a supposedly sick Brad Pitt suffering from cancer. The scam went on for two years during which the deceived woman transferred around 830,000€ (around $854,000) to a Turkish bank account. It was only when photos of Brad Pitt with his new partner Ines de Ramon were published that the victim reported the fraud to the authorities.

The use of AI-generated images in this case illustrates the increasing danger of deepfakes and the difficulty of distinguishing between real and fake images. Similar cases are on the rise; an alleged Elon Musk was recently used in fake AI videos to promote a financial scam. Investigations are being carried out in both cases, but it remains to be seen whether the perpetrators will actually be caught.

Romance scamming is a form of internet fraud in which perpetrators feign love and affection in order to financially exploit their victims. Fake profiles on social networks or dating platforms are often used to make contact with the victims. Experts advise caution when making acquaintances online. One should be particularly suspicious if the person suddenly shows intense feelings, asks for personal information or requests money. A real-life or face-to-face meeting should be arranged as soon as possible in order to verify the identity of the other person.