Brad Pitt ‘romance’ scam: Five people arrested for online theft of $480K

Police successful Spain person arrested 5 group successful relationship to an online romance scam centred astir A-list character Brad Pitt, which saw 2 women conned retired of complete €350,000 (C$487,800).

The arrests were announced by Spain’s Interior Ministry connected Monday. The authority said nan 5 accused persons contacted their victims done an online instrumentality page dedicated to Pitt and allegedly posed arsenic nan Fight Club actor.

Once nan scammers had convinced nan 2 victims that they were successful truth Pitt done various instant messages and emails, they led nan women to judge they’d entered into a romanticist narration pinch nan actor. Then, they’d inquire for money to put successful phoney commercialized projects allegedly involving Pitt.

News of nan arrests prompted a typical for Pitt to inquire his fans to beryllium cautious online — and to punctual admirers that Pitt himself does not person immoderate authorized societal media accounts.

“It’s atrocious that scammers return advantage of fans’ beardown relationship pinch celebrities,” Matthew Hiltzik, Pitt’s publicist, told nan New York Times. “But this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, particularly from actors who person nary societal media presence.”

Both victims of nan romance scam are Spanish residents. One woman, who lives adjacent Bilbao, transferred nan clone Pitt €150,000 (C$225,100). The 2nd woman, who lives successful Granada, mislaid €175,000 (C$262,600) to nan scammers.

Three of nan arrests were made successful November, while nan different 2 came later successful July. The 5 suspects person been charged pinch fraud and money laundering, authorities revealed.

The scammers reportedly developed a psychological floor plan of their victims by crawling their individual societal media accounts to find whether aliases not they whitethorn beryllium a susceptible person.

Authorities said nan 5 arrested persons beryllium to a “criminal organization.” The cognition utilized clone slope accounts and money “mules” successful African nations including Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, who authorities said laundered nan stolen costs for a mini fee.

Spain’s Interior Ministry reported they were capable to retrieve €85,000 (C$127,600) of nan original sum mislaid by nan 2 victims.

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In 2023, nan Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) said much than $50 cardinal was reported mislaid successful romance scams crossed 945 victims successful nan country. Romance scams were nan origin of immoderate of nan highest financial fraud losses reported to authorities that year.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police promote societal media users to stay skeptical of messages from chartless persons. The statement recommends conducting a thorough net hunt of a person’s identity. They besides declare that if a personification has “fallen successful emotion fast” aliases asks for money, it should beryllium seen arsenic a reddish flag.

If you aliases personification you cognize is simply a unfortunate of an online romance scam, you should file a report with nan Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.