Brad Pitt Impersonator Scams Women in Spain Out of Over Rs 3 Crore

5 men in Spain pretending to be Brad Pitt tricked women for more than Rs 3 crore

Scammers impersonating Brad Pitt conned two women in Spain out of €325,000 (about Rs 3 crore) by convincing them they were romantically involved with the actor. The incidents highlight how vulnerable individuals were targeted in these romance scams. A bunch of scammers posing as Hollywood icon Brad Pitt targeted two ladies in Spain and duped them into believing they were romantically involved with the actor. The crooks extracted €325,000 (about Rs 3 crore) from the victims. The Guardia Civil, Spain's national police force, has detained five people in connection with this scam. According to a source, the organization first contacted the women through a fan page dedicated to the star, leading them to believe they had a link with the real actor. They also convinced the victims to invest in projects that did not exist. As per the Guardian, the police said, "The cyber criminals, to capture the victims, had studied their social networks and made a psychological profile of them, thus discovering that both women were two vulnerable people, lacking in affection and in a state of depression." "They also used instant messaging platforms to exchange messages and emails with the two women until they reached a point where they believed they were chatting via WhatsApp with Brad Pitt himself, who promised them a romantic relationship and a future together," they added. Credit: Canva One woman from Andalusia lost €175,000 (about Rs 1.60 crore) in the scam, while another from the Basque Country lost €150,000 (roughly Rs 1.40 crore) in the same crime. When the scam was discovered, Spanish authorities acted quickly, arresting five people in Andalusia, including the scam's primary organizers. During the inquiry, the Guardia Civil raided five different places and confiscated many items, including mobile phones, bank cards, two computers, and a notebook with phrases used by scammers to deceive their victims. According to reports, police authorities were successful in recovering at least €85,000 (roughly Rs 79 lakh) that the scammers had collected from the two women while posing as Brad Pitt. In a similar case, a middle-aged woman from Granada was led to believe she was about to marry Brad Pitt. When her lawyer, Antonio Estella Aroza, first heard her story, he assumed it was a joke. The scammer, posing as a Hollywood star, persuaded the woman to transfer €170,000 (about Rs 1.50 crore). He even promised to see her in person for their wedding. However, when the fraudster failed to appear, the woman realized something was wrong and filed a complaint against the swindler. Also read: SCAM ALERT! Scammers Are Using AI To Create Realistic Videos Of Your Loved Ones To Dupe You What do you think about this? Tell us in the comments.

How women in Spain lost over Rs 3 crore to emails and WhatsApp messages claiming to to be from Brad Pitt - Times of India

Brad Pitt A series of email and WhatsApp scams targeting women in Spain have resulted in losses of over Rs 3 crore. The scammers, posing as Hollywood actor Brad Pitt, have managed to deceive numerous victims into sending them substantial sums of money. A woman from Andalusia in southern Spain was defrauded of 175,000 euros (approximately Rs 2 crore), while another woman from the northern Basque Country lost 150,000 euros (over Rs 1 crore). How the scam happenedThe scammers employed a variety of tactics to gain the trust of their victims. They contacted the women through a Brad Pitt fan page, promising romantic relationships and enticing them to invest in several nonexistent projects. They targeted these women by monitoring their social media activity. What the police saidAs reported by the Guardian, Spain's Guardia Civil police, said, "The cybercriminals, to capture the victims, had studied their social networks and made a psychological profile of them, thus discovering that both women were two vulnerable people, lacking in affection and in a state of depression." "They also used instant messaging platforms to exchange messages and emails with the two women until they reached a point where they believed they were chatting via WhatsApp with Brad Pitt himself, who promised them a romantic relationship and a future together," added the police. The police arrested five individuals from Andalusia and conducted raids on at least five homes related to the case. They seized several mobile phones, two computers, bank cards, and a diary containing phrases used to deceive the victims. Additionally, the police recovered 85,000 euros (approximately Rs 80,000). The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.