Shocking Scam: Woman Loses $850,000 to AI Impersonating Brad Pitt After Divorcing Husband

An interior designer named Anne from France fell victim to a scam where she lost hundreds of thousands of dollars believing she was romantically involved with the famous Hollywood actor Brad Pitt.

The scam began with messages from accounts posing as Pitt and his mother, using AI-generated images of the actor to build trust.

The fraudster preyed on Anne’s emotions, claiming that Brad Pitt required financial assistance for cancer treatment. Despite being cautioned against it, Anne continued to send money until the truth finally dawned on her.

A French woman was scammed out of hundreds of thousands of pounds after being tricked into believing she was dating Brad Pitt.

The 53-year-old victim, identified as Anne, was deceived into sending €830,000 ($850,000), supposedly to support the actor’s cancer treatment.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Anne revealed on French channel TF1 that the scam initiated with a message from an individual purporting to be Pitt’s mother on a social media platform.

This followed her posting photos from an extravagant ski holiday in Tignes on Instagram. The next day, another account, pretending to be the “Fight Club” actor himself, contacted her, claiming his mother had spoken highly of her.

Anne was struggling with personal issues in her marriage to a millionaire at the time, and by February 2023, she had developed a close connection with the impersonator.

The scammer sent her heartfelt poems and supportive messages, deepening her emotional attachment.

“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,” Anne admitted in an interview with BFMTV.

Anne admitted she initially suspected the account might be fake, but after daily conversations and receiving AI-generated photos and videos of Pitt, her doubts gradually faded.

What began as a seemingly innocent friendship soon escalated when the impersonator proposed marriage and promised Anne luxurious gifts.

However, there was a catch—she needed to cover customs fees to receive these presents, which quickly amounted to €9,000.

Seeing Anne’s willingness to send money, the scammer continued making increasingly outrageous demands.

When Anne confided that she was anticipating a hefty divorce settlement from her husband, the fraudster seized the opportunity.

Posing as Pitt, they claimed to be in urgent need of funds for kidney cancer treatment, alleging they couldn’t access their own money due to a divorce battle with actress Angelina Jolie.

To make the story more convincing, the scammer sent AI-generated images of Pitt appearing weak and bedridden in a hospital.

Despite their constant texting and photo exchanges, Anne noted that the impersonator was never available for a phone or video call.

Anne ultimately lost nearly one million euros to the elaborate scam. Despite repeated warnings from her daughter, she remained convinced of the relationship, insisting, “You’ll see when he’s here in person, then you’ll say sorry.”

Her belief only began to waver in the summer of 2024 when photos of the real Pitt with his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, surfaced in the media.

Sensing her growing doubt, the scammers quickly sent Anne a fabricated news alert denying Pitt’s relationship with de Ramon, claiming he was secretly involved with a mysterious “very special person.”

The deception deepened when someone posing as an FBI agent contacted Anne, offering to rescue her from the scam for €5,000. Desperate for a solution, she sent the money.

Drained financially, Anne was forced to sell all her furniture and move in with a friend. In a final attempt to manage her spiraling situation, she launched an online fundraiser to cover mounting legal fees.

According to TF1, Anne attempted suicide three times before being admitted to a specialized clinic for severe depression.

Once Anne fully grasped the extent of the scam, she reported it to authorities, triggering an official investigation.

However, nearly two years later, it remains uncertain whether she has recovered any of her lost funds. BFMTV reports that Anne is still hospitalized, grappling with the devastating aftermath of the ordeal.

Public reaction to her story was mixed; some expressed sympathy, while others felt it was her fault for getting defrauded.

One user on X (formerly Twitter) commented, “Romance scams are the cruelest.”

Another shared, “I had a friend that went through a similar situation and received pictures like this, but it was Jensen Ackles needing $10,000 for surgery.”

Others were more critical, questioning how she didn’t verify the claims. Someone wrote, “She couldn’t have googled ‘Brad Pitt hospital’? There would have been at least one article.”

On the harsher side, one user remarked, “Honestly, if you fall for this thinking, Brad Pitt, of all people, is going to randomly DM you. You kinda deserve it.”

Another said, “I don’t know how people who are so stupid to get that much money.”