“This is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach”—Brad Pitt’s rep. addresses French woman getting scammed of $850,000

Actor Brad Pitt's representative gave a statement to Entertainment Weekly on January 14, 2025, regarding cyber scams.

"It's awful that scammers take advantage of fans' strong connection with celebrities, but this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence," his representative said.

For the unversed, a 53-year-old French woman named Anne was scammed of $850,000 with the actor's AI-generated pictures. The news went viral on social media on January 14.

According to The Telegraph, the scammer told Anne his bank accounts were frozen, and he needed money for his cancer treatment. He sent her multiple AI-generated pictures and videos to prove he was in the hospital.

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The Brad Pitt scam: Details explored

Celebrity Sightings In New York City - February 13, 2023 - Source: Getty

As per NDTV's report on January 14, Anne shared her experience on the show Sept a huit on the local news channel TF1. The scammers first targeted her on Instagram in September 2023. A lady pretended to be Brad Pitt's mother and told Anne that her son needed a woman like her.

"At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous. But I’m not used to social media, and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me," Anne said.

Then, a man who claimed to be Brad Pitt reached out to her. The two started talking as Anne was going through a rough patch in her marriage. Anne shared on the show Sept a Huit that the scammer avoided phone calls but sent her poems. She said,

"There are so few men who write such things. I liked the man I was talking to and he knew how to talk to women."

The man convinced Anne that the actor was in love with her. She divorced her husband, believing the scammer. Then, he claimed his bank accounts were frozen due to divorce proceedings with Angelina Jolie. He made her believe that he was in the hospital and that he needed money for his treatment.

Anne realized she was being scammed when she saw news reports of Brad Pitt dating jewelry designer Ines De Ramon in 2024. According to NDTV's report, she was hospitalized for severe depression after she found out the truth.

As per CNN's report on September 24, 2024, two women in Spain lost $362,000 in a similar scam. Police arrested five scammers pretending to be Brad Pitt via WhatsApp and recovered $95,000.

According to People, Pitt has been dating Ines de Ramon since November 2022 and has allegedly been living together since February 2024.

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Brad Pitt was previously married to actress Jennifer Aniston from 2000 to 2005. After their divorce, Pitt married Angelina Jolie in 2014. After an eight-year legal battle, their divorce was settled on December 30, 2024.