A French woman, Anne, was scammed out of $850,000 after being led to believe she was in a romantic relationship with actor Brad Pitt. The scam began when Anne posted photos from a ski vacation, and soon after, she received a message from someone claiming to be Pitt’s mother. The following day, she got a message from an account she believed to be the actor himself.
Anne, who was unfamiliar with social media, didn’t initially suspect anything, as the person seemed charming and knew how to communicate well with her. She explained that she dismissed the idea of it being a scam at first, since the person appeared genuine and spoke to her in a way that felt real.
During the scam, which started in 2023, Anne was married to a millionaire husband. The fraudster promised her lavish gifts, and at one point, Anne sent around $9,000 to cover the costs of custom items the fake Brad Pitt supposedly bought for her. Later, over $800,000 from her divorce settlement was sent after the scammer sent Anne altered images of Pitt in a hospital, claiming he needed funds for kidney surgery. The scammer also told Anne that he couldn’t access his money due to his divorce from Angelina Jolie.
Despite her growing doubts, Anne continued to send money after receiving these fabricated images, and the scammer never contacted her through video or phone calls. When news about Pitt’s real relationship with Ines de Ramon hit the headlines, Anne began to question the authenticity of the account. However, the scammer sent her fake news claiming that Pitt was involved with a “mysterious person,” further deepening the deception.
Eventually, Anne realized the truth, but by then, she had already lost a significant amount of money. Her emotional distress led to severe depression, and she attempted suicide three times. She was hospitalized, and it’s uncertain if she will recover any of the money lost.
While some criticized Anne for falling for the scam, many others sympathized with her, condemning the cruelty of romance scams that exploit vulnerable individuals. Anne’s story drew widespread attention, but it also led to harassment against her. In response, TF1, the media channel that aired her interview, decided to remove the story from their platform.
