A Nigerian scammer who tricked a French woman into handing over almost £700,000 by posing as Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has been tracked down by experts working with the victim. The scammer’s identity was uncovered following a joint effort led by Marwan Ouarab, founder of the site Find My Scammer, and the victim, Anne, who lost £697,000 to the con.
The elaborate scam, which lasted over a year and a half, involved deep fake images and AI-generated messages designed to deceive Anne into believing she was in a romantic relationship with the movie star. The scammer first reached out to Anne posing as Pitt’s mother, claiming that her son needed someone like her. From there, the scammer, using a fake Brad Pitt account, built a relationship with Anne, sending poems, kind words, and AI-generated selfies, eventually convincing her to send large sums of money.
The scam took a dark turn when the supposed Brad Pitt, claiming to be in financial distress due to his divorce from Angelina Jolie, asked for financial assistance for urgent cancer treatment. This request, combined with the fake photos of the actor in a hospital bed, led Anne to part with large amounts of money, including payments for non-existent customs fees related to supposed gifts. In total, Anne transferred nearly one million euros during the course of their communications.
Ouarab, who had been working with Anne to track the scammer, successfully lured the perpetrator into clicking on a “booby-trapped” link, which granted access to the scammer’s phone and allowed the team to pinpoint his location in Nigeria. The scammer, now reportedly pretending to be another celebrity, Keanu Reeves, continues his fraudulent activities with a small group of associates.
Anne, a 53-year-old interior decorator, began to suspect that she had been scammed when she saw Brad Pitt in the media with his new girlfriend. By then, she had already lost a significant amount of money and had become emotionally attached to the scammer. It wasn’t until the realization hit that Anne contacted the authorities to report the fraud.
While she has been hospitalised due to the emotional toll the scam took on her, Anne’s story is now raising awareness about the dangers of romance scams, particularly those involving fake celebrity profiles. Experts like Ouarab are working tirelessly to help victims and shut down these types of fraud.
The scam has also led to discussions about the vulnerability of people, especially those experiencing emotional distress, to online fraud. Anne’s experience serves as a stark reminder of how scammers exploit loneliness and trust in high-profile figures for their own gain.
Authorities in Nigeria have been alerted to the scammer’s operations, and Ouarab has vowed to hand over all the information he has gathered to local law enforcement in an effort to bring the fraudster to justice.
