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15th January 2025
04:28pm GMT
The real Brad Pitt has issued a statement after a woman in France was tricked into sending €800k to a scammer impersonating the star.
Pitt slammed the AI-assisted scammer who tricked the 53-year-old woman into thinking they were in love and that the actor needed money for cancer treatment after messaging for a year-and-a-half.
The victim gave an interview on French television explaining how she had thought they were in a relationship after the AI fake courted her with declarations of love and a proposal to marry.
After the story made headlines this week a spokesperson for Pitt said: “It’s awful that scammers take advantage of the strong bond between fans and celebrities.
“This is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online messages, especially from actors who are not present on social networks.”
Police in France are investigating the scheme after her 'lover' tricked her into handing over her money.
Initially she handed over money to pay for the customs bills for luxury handbags the fake Pitt promised her.
Later the fraudsters claimed the actor was hospitalised with kidney cancer and needed money for treatment.
Fake images depicting Pitt in a hospital bed were sent to the victim and though her daughter warned that it was a scam, the woman insisted the 'relationship' was real.
The woman discovered the truth when she saw in summer 2024 that Pitt had been pictured with his current partner Ines de Ramon.
Explaining why she had fallen for the scam, she told French broadcaster TF1: “There are few men who write to you like that. I loved the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women and it was very well put together.
“We’re talking about Brad Pitt here and I was stunned. At first, I thought it was fake, but I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”
The interior designer was going through a divorce with a millionaire entrepreneur at the time she was scammed.
