A French woman quickly went viral after she was scammed out of her life savings by individuals posing as Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt.
The bizarre story quickly went viral, as netizens were left baffled by how this 53-year-old woman was duped into ending her marriage and losing her life savings.
Anne shared during the interview that she had been duped into believing she was in a romantic relationship with Brad Pitt. For a year and a half, she transferred a staggering 830,000 euros ($850,000) to scammers who convinced her that the 61-year-old actor was in dire need of financial assistance.
Anne recounted how the scam began when she was first contacted by someone posing as Pitt’s mother shortly after she started using Instagram during a family ski trip. “She told me that her son needed someone like me,” Anne explained. Days later, the scammers messaged her again, this time pretending to be Pitt himself.
The fraudsters used a combination of fake social media accounts, WhatsApp messages, and advanced AI-generated images to create a convincing illusion.
They sent Anne what appeared to be selfies and personal messages from Pitt, claiming that his bank accounts were frozen due to ongoing divorce proceedings with his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie. To further manipulate her, they fabricated a story that Pitt required money for urgent kidney treatment.
Anne’s belief in the scam was so strong that she divorced her husband, convinced she was in a genuine relationship with the Hollywood star. Her realization that she had been deceived only came when news broke of Pitt’s real-life relationship with jewelry designer Ines de Ramon.
Social media platforms were flooded with jokes and memes. However, the ridicule soon escalated into harassment, with Anne becoming the target of cruel comments and public shaming.
