Falling into the 'Pitt': How French woman was conned by scammers posing as Hollywood actor

What if your favourite Hollywood star reached out to you, professing their love? Well, this all seems too far-fetched, doesn’t it? But for 53-year-old Anne, this seemed like a dream come true moment—until reality struck hard.

Anne, a French interior designer, was lured into believing that she had captured the heart of A-list actor Brad Pitt. But the fantasy didn’t end there. Over the course of a year, she ended up transferring a staggering €800,000 (Rs 7 crore) into scammer’s accounts, after the ‘fake’ Pitt claimed he needed funds for medical treatment amid his messy divorce with his estranged wife Angelina Jolie.

Here’s a closer look at how this elaborate ‘Brad Pitt scam’ unfolded.

The charm-offensive

Anne’s ordeal began in February 2023 when she created an Instagram account to share pictures from her skiing holiday in the Alps, reported The Telegraph.

Shortly after, a woman claiming to be Jane Etta Pitt—Brad Pitt’s real-life mother—contacted her, saying: “My son needs a woman like you.”

The very next day, the “son” in question appeared in her messages, introducing himself and expressing curiosity about her.

The message read: “Hello Anne, my mother has told me wonderful things about you. I’d love to get to know you better.”

While Anne, who was a relative novice on social media, originally suspected it might be a scam. The fraudster’s relentless charm and persistence gradually broke down her doubts.

“We’re talking about Brad Pitt here, and I was stunned,” Anne explained. “At first, I thought it was fake, but I didn’t really understand what was happening to me. After that, we got in touch every day and became buddies.”

Over the next year and a half, their conversations grew more frequent, and their connection blossomed into a full-fledged online romance. The scammer sent Anne heartfelt poems and passionate declarations of love, deepening her trust and emotions.

“There are so few men who write to you like that,” she told Sept à Huit, a French documentary show. “I loved the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, and it was always very well put together.”

To maintain the ruse, the impostor avoided taking her calls but frequently sent AI-generated videos and images to convince her it was truly Brad Pitt.

The fake Pitt also told her that he had sent her luxury gifts, but asked her to pay €9,000 (₹8.02 lakh) in customs duties to receive them. He insisted his accounts were frozen due to his divorce from his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie.

At one point, Anne said, the actor even proposed marriage to her and she came close to saying yes.

The fake kidney operation

Shortly after Anne’s divorce was finalised with her wealthy businessman husband, and she received a settlement of €775,000 (Rs 6.90 crore).

It was at this vulnerable moment that the scammer intensified his attack, using doctored photos and videos with the actor’s face to convince Anne that he was hospitalised and in desperate need of money for kidney cancer treatment.

To make the deception even more believable, the scammer even sent Anne fake images of “Brad Pitt” bedridden and hooked up to IV drips in a hospital, solidifying the illusion and pushing her to act.

While Anne initially harboured doubts, her reservations were quelled when the fake Brad Pitt’s “doctor” contacted her via email. The supposed medical professional assured her that her “husband” was “in a worrying state and is fighting to survive”.

“It cost me to do it, but I thought that I might be saving a man’s life,” Anne admitted as she wired €60,000 (Rs 53.44 lakh) to an account in Turkey, reported The Telegraph.

How did Anne’s bubble burst?

Anne’s illusion began to crumble in the summer of 2024 when the “real” Brad Pitt was spotted with his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon.

Despite this, the scammers attempted to salvage their con by sending her a fake news alert, claiming the reports of his relationship with de Ramon were false and that he was instead dating an unnamed “very special person.”

As the deception unravelled further, a new twist emerged. Someone posing as an FBI agent contacted Anne, offering to help her escape the scam in exchange for €5,000 (Rs 4.45 lakh). Desperate for closure, she transferred the money.

By this point, nearly penniless, Anne had sold all her furniture and moved in with a friend. She even set up an online fundraising campaign to seek financial assistance for legal fees to pursue justice.

The emotional toll of being cheated on proved devastating. After attempting suicide three times, Anne was admitted to a clinic and diagnosed with depression, reported French TV network TF1.

Eventually, she approached the police and formally filed a case against the scammer, hoping to bring her ordeal to a close.

“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this,” she told TF1. “I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.”

Not the first Brad Pitt scam

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Brad Pitt’s popular identity has been exploited in such scams.

In September last year, Spanish police arrested five individuals accused of defrauding two women out of €325,000 by impersonating the Oscar-winning actor through online and WhatsApp messages.

According to Spain’s Guardia Civil police force, the suspects connected with the victims via a fan page dedicated to Brad Pitt. They convinced the women that they were in romantic relationships with the actor.

Once trust was established, the gang members, posing as Pitt, allegedly persuaded the women to invest in non-existent projects, pocketing the money for themselves.

With input from agencies