Brad Pitt is making headlines again, but this time, it’s not for a forthcoming role. Instead, an artificial intelligence-generated version of the Fight Club actor scammed a French woman—who thought she was in an online romantic relationship with Pitt—out of over $800,000. Read to learn more about the convoluted scheme and how you can protect yourself from AI fraudsters.
How AI posed as Brad Pitt in a $800K scam
Over a year and a half ago, a 53-year-old French interior designer known as “Anne” received an Instagram message from someone posing as Jane Etta Pitt, Brad’s mother.
Anne told AFP, a French news agency, that Jane’s fake account “told me that her son needed someone like me.”
What followed was several months of Anne exchanging messages with who she believed to be the 61-year-old actor. Their correspondence included AI-generated selfies of Pitt and took place across different social media and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp.
Eventually, the fake account requested a substantial sum of money to help cover the medical costs of kidney cancer treatment—which he allegedly could not afford because of expensive divorce proceedings with ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
“At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous,” Anne said. “But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”
The warning signs of Anne’s $800K scam
Anne eventually initiated a transfer of 830,000 euros ($855,000) to Pitt’s fake account located in Turkey.
She was finally tipped off that the whole ordeal was a scam after seeing images of Pitt with his partner, Inès de Ramon, last summer.
“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this?” Anne said, confused by the scammer’s motivation. “I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.”
Public reaction to the Brad Pitt AI scam
Anne appeared on TF1, a French television channel, to tell her story. The audience’s reaction was so insulting that the station was forced to pull her interview from the show’s media sites.
“The story broadcast this Sunday has resulted in a wave of harassment against the witness,” wrote Harry Roselmack, a TF1 presenter, on his X account. “For the protection of victims, we have decided to withdraw it from our platforms.”
In addition to facing backlash from online trolls, a few companies used Anne’s scamming experience as a promotion opportunity.
Netflix France wrote, “four films to see with Brad Pitt (really) for free” in a post on X.
How to protect yourself from AI scams
There are several ways AI technology enables scammers such as deepfakes, generative text scams and voice cloning.
To safeguard yourself from AI-powered identity theft and online fraud, try implementing one or more of the following protective measures:
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Limit the amount of personal information you share online, especially on public platforms
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Include multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all of your private accounts
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Create a “family password” for your family members or a special and confidential word that acts as a verification code for authentic communications
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Stay informed about the latest AI scam techniques to protect your identity
