Brad Pitt romance scam

[TwistedWonder]

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/french-woman-faces-online-mockery-after-being-conned-out-of-700-000-by-fake-brad-pitt-13289657

First of all I want you to say that no one deserves to be scammed and I’m sorry this woman lost money but come on, how naive does someone have to be to fall for this?

The photos are so poor that surely anyone with eyes can see they’re fake. And since when did a A+ celebs mum contact randoms on SM?

To seriously think Brad Pitt can’t afford medical treatment and needs money sent to his American doctors Turkish bank account - words fail me.

Ditto the hundreds of thousands of conspiracy theorists who are very often intelligent, normal, well-adjusted citizens, who go on to believe the earth is flat, the Royal family are lizards and all the rest of it.

@WordOfTheDay no, they're really not well adjusted and they don't. The huge majority of people, really don't.

Not long after, she begins to realise that he is actually the film actor.

But he wasn't, he was a scammer.

That poor woman attempted to commit suicide three times following the news of her falling for the scam spreading around the world. Maybe it's time to put it to rest?!

AIUI she is the one who broke the story to warn other women. The mental health crisis and suicide attempts seem to have been related to the catfishing experience and financial losses not the media coverage.

I read that this scammer that she thought was Brad Pitt was the reason for her divorce? I'm not convinced it's learning difficulties or mental ill health. I think she really thought Brad Pitt was interested in her. The same Brad Pitt who has plenty of money, kudos and could get any woman he wants. It's arrogance and escapism to think he would want her. And she never met him. Isn't there something where she thinks the real Brad Pitt should reimburse her?

In part I think there is sunk costs and after a while you just cannot give it up just in case it's true or to save face. I know people I think are being scammed or used and they just won't listen. It's selling hope, they ignore people telling them to stop because it's jealousy or something, they are then further isolated and so many people are lonely.

Isn't there something where she thinks the real Brad Pitt should reimburse her?

That rings a bell, I'm sure I've read that too, he may be super rich but it's not his fault she did this.

Most outrageous post I've ever read on MN

The thing I dont understand - not in a judgy way because I realise many many do - but personally I cant understand how you can fall for someone when you've never met them. I listened to the Sweet Bobby podcast, for example, and my heart really went out to her, but all i kept thinking was 'but you never met him??'. For 8 years! How could you fall in love with someone, and vice versa if you never met them. I feel Im alone in this though - am I? Because everyone else it appears gets it, and it just confuses me. I wont speak to guy after 1 week if he hasnt set a date lol. Maybe Im weird - you hear of people having an online romance and getting married. It seems so odd to me.

The thing I dont understand - not in a judgy way because I realise many many do - but personally I cant understand how you can fall for someone when you've never met them

I think in a way it's easier. The scammers essentially provide just enough for their minds to do the rest, to build up a picture of the perfect man. So they fall a lot harder than they would if it was someone flawed and flesh-and-blood standing in front of them, because it's an idealised fantasy of their own creation they're in love with.

Nope, I'd need the physical presence too.

Do you know the woman has learning difficulties?

I was absolutely mind blown that somebody could fall for this too. Especially when I saw the photos.

Falling for somebody you have never met also seems odd to me as does giving a stranger money.

With some of the men, they just think they should have a very attractive, much younger woman and will pay to get one. If this was about repulsive 60+ year old men in Thailand paying for women in their 20's (who often look like children), there'd be no empathy being preached ad no excuses about loneliness.

This - I worked in oil and gas and you would see this frequently. Deluded older expats getting their pockets emptied by much younger local women who convinced them they were genuinely attracted to men their father / grandfather’s age. I don’t recall any of the men getting much sumpathy.

Makes you wonder what's going on in their head(s) doesn't it? They must be so detached from reality. I just can't get my head around why people fall for these weird scams. I mean, sending money to people online who they've never met? Why? Like, multiple 10s of 1000s of pounds sometimes! (Even 100s of 1000s!)

And falling for someone they have never met, and staying in that 'relationship' for YEARS.... (Like in the Sweet Bobby scam) Wasn't that 9 YEARS or so that she was convinced she was talking to a man who wasn't who he said he was? She was obsessed with (and in love with) a man she had never met.

Some people said that in that lass's culture, that it wasn't the 'done thing' to still be single/never married at 30, so she was grasping hold of any hope that she may have someone interested in her, and the possibility of him marrying her. Really sad.

Also, it turned out to be her COUSIN who was 'catfishing' her, and pretending to be 'Bobby.'

Bobby did exist, but it wasn't him she was speaking to. Like with the Brad Pitt scam.

.

Some posters really don't get it; that's on them really if they choose to talk about something they don't understand but it is a bit pointless.

You only have to read the hundreds of threads on relationships where women are beguiled and hoodwinked into believing what others - those not enthralled in that particular situation - would not. The incredulousness on those threads is just as judgemental as it is on this one.

So many threads where women want to believe what's been said in a text isn't what the words actually say. Infatuation is an emotion more powerful than love because it isn't hampered by any sort of reality of dirty socks, toothpaste smears and the like. So when women desperately post the actual text of a message that they've been received and posters interpret - correctly, because they are not the recipient who is pining - the OP is hurt and determined to claw back the first impression they had when receiving the message. They interpret the words as ones that they want to read and filter out the rest. Cold water is poured on and it smarts.

It's really easy to be smug but why? What does anyone get out of that? It doesn't change your own reality to ridicule somebody else. One day it may be you or somebody you care about it that unenviable position and I'm guessing you'd prefer compassion for them...

While this brad pitt one is ludicrous.

Some of the scammers are very convincing. They play on women's caring nature.

I remember ages ago I joined an online travel group. The group were planning to all go on a trip next year. Me and one of the guys started talking about travel. And then he messaged me on the platform a couple more times. Just normal stuff.

Then I logged in and he started talking about the trip, then he started telling me he was in trouble and he was really worried.

I wrote "what happened?."

He wrote that he had borrowed money off a loan shark and now the interest tate was huge, and they were coming round to beat him up tomorrow. He said that he badly needed money just to stop the beating him up.

Now at this point I saw through the scam.

But I really saw how professional and manipulative these people are. They join a travel group and make you think you will be going on a travel group tour with them. Theyv tell you they have similiar interests to you. They suck people in that way.

So they join a group that you have an intereat in. Then they tell people they're in trouble.

I didn't send him money, buy I could see in that instance how someone might want to stop this person "getting beaten up" and send him money.

I haven't read all of the comments, but some of the ones I have read are so ignorant.
I have a niece and a nephew with autism, currently teens.
I absolutely could see that if/when they were allowed phones, they absolutely would/could fall for something like this, regardless of how many warnings you'd give them.
Their brains do not allow them to comprehend that someone could be lying to them.
This is why scammers target societies' most vulnerable.

You can't speak for everyone with autism.

My brother has autism and he has never given money to anyone online.

You can't speak for them either, you have a sample size of 1.

You have a sample size of 2. If you've forgotten? You said you had a niece and nephew

I actually know many other people with autism aswell.
I'm using my brothher as an example

Well that would make it 3, wouldn't it. But neither have autism. I'm going to leave this there now.

Shes cited as an intererior designer who was going through divorce proceedings with a multi millionaire at the time

Doesnt sound like someone with LD to me

I never understand how someone can think they're in a relationship with someone they haven't physically met

Or spoken to on the phone. Or face time

It's all email and text

Does Brad speak (write) French or did he scam her in English?

Well Im autistic and I work with people with autism so I think its a fair comment that we on the whole are more vulnerable to abuse. Studies show this - especially around abusive relationships (of which I sadly am a survivor of). However, I wouldnt have been taken in by this scam, but recognise I am vulnerable to abusive relationships. Im more likely to abused if I had met the person, and hear sob stories. Although Id never part with money because I would find the person instantly unattractive and untrustworthy just for having asked. But in my family even and my friends asking for a loan is an absolute no-no, so Im highly unlikely to fall prey to a romantic partner doing that. I also would have to meet the person.

But Im only one autistic person. And, as I said, studies show as a collective group we are more vulnerable to abusive relationships. Scams? I dunno. You could argue that abusive relationships with narcissists - the whole love-bombing and discarding, is kind of a scam in its own way. They may not be catfishing and be the real person but in a way they arent. An emotional scam rather than a monetary one....Just a thought.

Yeh in Sweet Bobby they have telephone calls, texts, and would sleep with phone still on - but why no facetime? They had 'online sex' she said. I dont think that was ever explained why there were no video chats? How can you build attraction? Be intimate? I just dont get it.