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.

It's an utterly fascinating case and raises so many questions. At what point does someone behaviour classify them as vulnerable and to what extent can we limit their autonomy to protect them.

Are we failing in our duty of care to others by letting them do foolish and harmful things. Or is it a greater evil to try and supervise and limit potentially harmful activity for those deemed vulnerable. Let people learn through natural consequences?

I suppose it would depend on the degree of learning difficulties and the systems in place - all this took place in France, I have no idea what their equivalent of Power of Attorney/COP is. However, if France is anything like the UK it can be difficult for people to access the right support, or for others to access it for them, and all too easy for people to slip through the safety net.

It's something of a moot question because it's only speculation that this woman has LD. You can be of low intelligence without meeting the LD threshold, or your normal intelligence and judgement can be impaired for any number of reasons - i.e. you can be of typical intelligence but vulnerable.

It's almost as if people are fallible and have blind spots that can be exploited. Who knew?

Yeah I think many on this forum forget what the majority of people are like in this country outside of their bubble.
Most are below average intelligence
Most on minimum wage
Most in council houses
Most love shows like love island and Jeremy Kyle
Most don't go on holidays
Many love the decor from those Christmas threads "who the hell is buying these tacky things!?"
Etc
Keep your minds open

That is horrific.

She didn't have learning disabilities she was 53 and ran an interior design company. It is unafathomble how she did this! She also divorced her husband to get the money!!! She is attractive. My theory is (and you see this a fair bit to a lesser scale in everday life). Women who were clearly very beautiful when young do often start to make ridiculous mistakes in mid life because they don't realise the bloom has faded!

I think it's sad that someone can be so desperately unhappy they fall for a few love messages.

Some desperate TOWIE wannabe who was hoping to get in the limelight with Brad Pitt? I would find it amusing frankly.

She doesnt' seem to fit in that category. It's just very sad. Stupid on another level, but mainly sad.

No learning difficulties, just more money than sense!

Obvious photoshopping/ Brad Pitt is loaded,so why on earth would he contact some random to fund him? Pretty obvious really.
The woman scammed posted pics of her super luxury skiing trip in Tignes online and she attracted unwanted attention. Scams are awful, but this one…really?

there would be a lot less arguments on this forum if people realised that! People are not trying to fight per say, they are just.. below intelligence.

I have a relative who was a model dated famous men etc. She's now in 60's and flirts around young men has been scammed on line. Women who were stunning and had men falling overthemselves for them really do struggle as they age and they never lose that sense of entitlement etc that their beauty afforded them when young. It is sad to watch.

Not knowing her I couldn't say, but AFAIK all that's been reported is that she booked into a MH facility only after this happened and she'd been criticised

I realise absolutely everything gets medicalised on here, but unless there's something I've missed I'm not aware there's been any confirmation that she's suffering from anything specific beyond embarrassment?

Women who were clearly very beautiful when young do often start to make ridiculous mistakes in mid life because they don't realise the bloom has faded!

I do think there is something in this, considering that many victims are divorced or widowed - of course, the emotional impact of divorce and especially widowhood makes them vulnerable anyway - but the circumstances mean they will likely have been away from the dating scene for decades and will not only be naive about the pitfalls of online dating, but also won't be conscious that - an awful phrase to use but sadly accurate - their 'market value' has dropped because unfortunately we live in a world that values youthful beauty far more than the character and wisdom of middle age and beyond.

I know what the point of this thread is. It's to point and laugh at someone else's pretty serious misfortunes.

Jeremy Kyle was a bear pit shit show but it kept those views (not the 'contestants') contained as a baying mob.

Some people are just really lacking so many things. Perhaps there will be an 'unpopular opinions' thread coming up soon and they'll flock to that?

It is scary to think about looking back. But at least I know how serious it is to try to protect my own children online (and from certain types of men in general). It's terrifying to think of children being given unsupervised access to the internet these days.

I think this could happen to more people than we'd imagine. Just at the wrong point in life when this fantasy was what she needed. She was probably momentarily and immensely off guard due to the divorce, didn't hear or didnt listen to the warning bells.
Wonder what the bank security measures were. My dm had to transfer a large sum recently to a tradesman and the bank wanted to see the invoice, clarify the work had been completed and was in line with the quote. Really on it.

Poor woman, obviously vulnerable and sadly people believe what they want to believe. I hope she has kind people in her life that will support her though this emotional time.

Use the search tool and look for threads about ghosts or mediums and you'll see how easy it is for "intelligent" women to fall for these scams.

If dm had told the bank she was making the transfer to Brad pitts doctors bank account they'd have put her in a straight jacket!

I was thinking.. “poor woman” until I saw the pictures!
Honestly?

Thanks @TightlyLacedCorset

Definitely something to consider. It seems so implausible that someone could fall for it but you describe being vulnerable very well.

This woman could well be suffering in the same way, recently divorced, maybe losing her home, her friends, her lifestyle

I was showing this to the kids today and we were having a giggle at the surgery one - stupid woman.

what an ego she must have to think BP would contact her

You only need to look at MN. Everytime a begging thread pops up, most people report it because they see it for what it is, but there are always some people who will try to send the OP money. I remember one poster in particular who said she would rather be scammed than live with knowing she didn't help someone who might have been genuine. "But what if it's real..." holds a lot of power for some people.

Having a giggle at it and encouraging your children to do the same? You should be thoroughly ashamed of your behaviour.

What does that even mean? Your use of 'straight jacket' as some sort of 'witty' point is mocking. Do you honestly think that 'Brad pitts doctor' would be named as the payee?

Banks do have safeguarding in place. I know this as my bank sends e-mails through about it. I paid off my car over the phone via the bank and had to jump through several layers of security to do it. When a customer is insistent that they are paying there isn't much that the bank can do.