Nigerians linked to $850,000 AI-driven Brad Pitt romance scam
A scam involving AI-generated images of Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has been traced back to Nigeria, where fraudsters defrauded a French woman of $850,000 (₦1,313,258,500).
The perpetrators posed as the 61-year-old actor, claiming they needed funds for a kidney transplant because their accounts had been frozen due to an ongoing divorce with Angelina Jolie.
The victim, identified as Anne, is a 53-year-old woman from France, according to a report by France 24.com.
Anne was initially targeted on Instagram by someone posing as Brad Pitt’s mother after she shared skiing pictures from the Tignes resort. Her lawyer, Laurene Hanna, revealed that Anne lost a total of 830,000 euros to the scammers.
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Anne has since reached out to Marwan Ouarab, the founder of FindmyScammer.com, to help track down the fraudsters. According to Ouarab, the scammers — three men in their 20s — are located in Nigeria. Anne’s legal team has filed accusations against them. French authorities say they can only investigate the matter if a formal petition is submitted.
Ouarab’s team was able to identify the scammers’ location and even access one of their phones after sending a “booby-trapped” link, revealing the scammers’ identity and the Nigerian address where they operate.
This scam highlights how Nigerian fraudsters, already known for internet-based fraud like “romance” scams, are now leveraging new technologies like AI to deceive victims. The case has sparked significant social media discussion, with many Nigerians expressing frustration over the stigma that comes with the country’s association to internet fraud.
The issue of Nigerian cyber fraud has been a recurring theme in popular culture, especially with songs like Olu Maintain’s “Yahooze” (2007), which celebrates internet fraudsters. In 2019, Nigerian musician Naira Marley was briefly arrested on charges related to conspiracy and credit card fraud.
While Nigerians continue to call for stricter enforcement against scammers, this incident has ignited broader conversations about the rise of AI-driven scams and their potential to escalate in the future.
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