In a recent scam, a French woman was tricked into handing over $850,000 to a romance scammer posing as Brad Pitt. The story serves as a reminder of how deceptive and manipulative romance scams can be. Read on for a detailed look at how this scam unfolded and advice to help you stay safe from similar scams.

Brad Pitt Scam: How it Unfolded

The scammer sent the victim, a 53-year-old French interior designer, edited photos and personalized messages that mimicked Pitt, creating a believable illusion of a romantic relationship with the actor.

Over 18 months, the scammer, under the guise of Pitt, built a deep emotional connection with the victim through daily communications, including love poems and heartfelt messages. The scam escalated when the impersonator claimed to be suffering from a serious medical issue, creating a false sense of urgency. The victim was led to believe that her financial help was urgently needed due to Pitt’s bank account being frozen during divorce proceedings with Angelina Jolie.

The victim was persuaded to send $850,000 to the romance scammer, believing she was helping her future spouse. Her realization of the scam came only when she saw images of the real Brad Pitt with his partner, Ines de Ramon, which contradicted the narrative she had been led to believe.

Brad Pitt Scam: A Classic Romance Scam

This scam shows many of the common signs of a romance scam, serving as a good reminder of how they work:

• The scammer built trust by sending edited photos and personalized messages, mimicking Pitt to initiate a believable romantic relationship.
• Through daily communications, the scammer created a deep emotional bond, crucial for gaining the victim’s trust and manipulating her emotions.
• The scammer invented a crisis, claiming to suffer from a medical issue with frozen bank accounts. This was designed to evoke urgency, prompting the victim to offer financial help.
• The groundwork led to the ultimate goal: financial exploitation, to the amount of $850,000.

Romance Scams: Six Red Flags

Be on the lookout for these red flags. If one or more occurs — think very carefully about your next steps, and seek the guidance of trusted family, friends, and/or experts.

• The individual in question is very far away.
• Their profile seems too good to be true.
• The relationship progresses very quickly.
• The individual in question breaks promises to visit or meet up in person.
• They are in need of money (whatever the excuse).
• Even worse — they require one payment method in particular.

Protect Yourself from Scams with Trend Micro ScamCheck

With the increasing number and sophistication of scams of all types, staying one step ahead is more crucial than ever. Introducing the newly updated Trend Micro ScamCheck! Available for both Android and iOS, ScamCheck offers comprehensive protection from deceptive phishing scams, scam and spam text messages, deepfakes, and more:

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• SMS Filter & Call Block: Say goodbye to unwanted spam and scam calls and messages. Minimize daily disruptions and reinforce your defenses against phishing.
• Deepfake Scan: Detect deepfakes in real-time during video calls, alerting you if anyone is using AI face-swapping technology to alter their appearance.
• Web Guard: Surf the web safely, protected from malicious websites and annoying ads.

To download Trend Micro ScamCheck or to learn more, click the button below.

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