Washington, January 18
Brad Pitt's team has issued a response in connection to a viral case of a French woman who was duped of 850K USD by a scammer using AI. The woman named Anne is a fan of Brad Pitt, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
Pitt's reps condemned the scammers for taking advantage of the strong connection between the fans and celebrities after they conned the French woman by pretending to be actor Brad Pitt with the help of AI.
"It's awful that scammers take advantage of fans' strong connection with celebrities, but this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence," said a statement by the actor's spokesperson.
The 53-year-old French woman, named Anne, revealed that she was conned after being convinced she was in a long-term relationship with the 'F1' star.
The scammer allegedly used AI technology to impersonate Pitt, sending personalized photos and messages to the woman. Anne was convinced to send nearly 1 million USD for cancer treatment, with "Pitt" claiming he was unable to access his bank accounts due to his divorce from Angelina Jolie.
The scammer even sent AI-generated images of Pitt in the hospital to help convince Anne to send the money.
Anne reportedly eventually realized she had been conned when she saw photos of Pitt out on the town with girlfriend Ines de Ramon.
Anne told her story on an episode of a French TV show.
"At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it's ridiculous," Anne said. "But I'm not used to social media and I didn't really understand what was happening to me. I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this? I've never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell," she said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- ANI