Scammers are finding new interesting ways to trick people into sending them money, and with the rise of social media this is becoming easier. Action Fraud has revealed that one tactic crooks are using is called romance fraud.
A recent example of this is a French woman being duped out of €830,000 (£700,000) by scammers who were pretending to be Brad Pitt. The con artists made Anne, 53, believe that she was in a relationship with the Hollywood actor for a year and a half.
Romance scams are when people are tricked into sending money to criminals who have gone to great lengths to gain their trust and convince them they are in a genuine relationship. The criminals will continually make requests for their victims to send them large sums of money, usually to ‘pay’ for medical bills, treatment or to cover travel expenses to come over and visit them.
On a French primetime programme, broadcasted by TF1, interior designer Anne revealed that she began her relationship with ‘Brad Pitt’ in February 2023 on Instagram. The segment has since been pulled due to the amount of harassment Anne has received – although it can still be found online.
At the time she had decided to download Instagram, where she was immediately contacted by someone claiming to be Pitt’s mother, Jane Etta, who said that her son “needed a woman just like her”. A person pretending to be Mr Pitt began messaging her the next day, which initially didn’t feel right.
However, even though she was married, Anne began her ‘relationship’ with the actor because “as someone who isn’t very used to social media, I didn’t really know what was happening to me”.
The scammers first managed to convince Anne to send €9000 to Pitt’s bank account supposedly being frozen because of divorce proceedings with actor Angelina Jolie. Requests for money continually came with the scammers using AI-generated photos of Brad Pitt to convince Anne that he was in hospital for kidney cancer treatment.
These pictures have been widely circulated on social media. Anne explained: “I looked those photos up on the internet but couldn’t find them so I thought that meant he had taken those selfies just for me.”
Convincing herself that she was saving a man’s life, Anne sent all the money she had gained from her divorce – €775,000. The scammers managed to dissipate all of Anne’s concerns, even creating a fake news report amidst gossip magazines showing Pitt’s new girlfriend, Ines de Ramon. The fake report included an AI-generated anchor saying that Pitt’s “exclusive relationship with one special individual… who goes by the name of Anne.”
However, when the actor’s real relationship became official in June 2024, Anne decided enough was enough. TF1 revealed that the ordeal has left Anne broke, and that she has tried to end her own life three times. She pleads: “These people deserve hell. We need to find those scammers, I beg you – please help me find them.”
How to spot a romance scam
Action Fraud advises that in order to be safe from romance scams, it is best to not send any money to someone you have met online but not in person. If you are suspicious about pictures you should do your research. A reverse image search can find photos that have been taken from somewhere, or someone, else.
Another term for this crime is called ‘catfishing’. This is when someone creates a false identity online for the purposes of fraud, deception and exploitation. If you are in an online relationship, there are some signs to look out for if you think someone may be catfishing you.
- A reluctance to meet – if a person is constantly refusing to meet up or video call, it could be because they are hiding their true identity.
- Emotional manipulation – they may try to create a lot of drama in order to get attention or sympathy from you.
- Asking for money – these can be for things like a medical emergency or a sudden loss of a job.
- Inconsistent stories – catfishes will have a tendency to contradict themselves as they cannot keep up with all their lies.
- Perfect pictures – many crooks use stock images or overly ‘polished’ photos to try and pull you in.
Which! has also revealed that over the past year, 12 percent of adults in the UK – an estimated 6.6 million people – have lost money to an online scam. If you think you are being scammed, speak to a friend or family member for advice. If in doubt, cease communication and report them to the service provider and the police by calling 101.
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