Hacked! – Episode #5
AI romance scam: the Brad Pitt case unpacked
Brad Pitt, one of the most recognisable Hollywood stars in the world, has never had an active presence on social media — a fact that scammers exploited with remarkable cynicism. In January 2025, France discovered the story of Anne Deneuchatel, a 53-year-old interior decorator swindled out of 830,000 euros by a network of “brouteurs” who convinced her, over nearly a year and a half, that she was in a romantic relationship with the American actor.
Revealed on the programme Sept à Huit on TF1 on 12 January 2025, the case became within days one of the most documented instances of AI romance fraud in France — before turning into a second story, equally revealing: that of the cyberbullying suffered by the victim herself.
Deepfakes and identity theft: how Brad Pitt’s image was used in a record-breaking scam
Photomontages, generative AI and emotional manipulation: the mechanics of the fraud
It all begins in February 2023, when Anne shares photos from a ski trip in Tignes on Instagram. She receives a message from an account presenting itself as that of Jane Etta Pitt, the actor’s mother. The following day, an account claiming to be Brad Pitt himself starts a conversation.
Over the months that follow, the scammers send her photos generated or retouched by AI, personalised messages and even love poems, building an increasingly intense correspondence. Anne, then married and going through marital difficulties, ends up leaving her husband, convinced she is living an authentic love story with the star.
The cybercriminals then steer the conversation towards repeated financial demands, under various pretexts — until she transfers 830,000 euros in total between February 2023 and June 2024.
From realisation to cyberbullying: when the victim becomes a target
Anne begins to have doubts after reading press articles about Brad Pitt’s real relationship with Inès de Ramon. She files a complaint and agrees to testify on Sept à Huit, hoping to warn other potential victims.
But the broadcast of the report on 12 January 2025 triggers the opposite effect. Clips go viral, internet users mock the obviously imperfect quality of the deepfakes used, and a wave of ridicule turns into a cyberbullying campaign. Several brands and official accounts, including a professional football club, post messages openly mocking the victim before issuing apologies. Faced with the scale of the phenomenon, TF1 removes the report from its platforms on 14 January 2025 to protect Anne.
Brad Pitt’s entourage responds publicly through a spokesperson, stating that the actor has no presence on social media and that any online solicitation claiming to come from him should be considered fraudulent.
Brouteurs and generative AI: an industrialised romance scam
The Anne Deneuchatel case is part of a phenomenon documented since the early 2000s. “Brouteurs” — networks of cybercriminals operating primarily from West Africa — primarily target French-speaking victims, often women over 50 in emotionally vulnerable situations.
The arrival of generative AI has considerably increased the effectiveness of these scams: artisanal photomontages have been replaced by deepfakes capable of simulating a credible visual presence over time.
Brad Pitt is not an isolated case. A similar scam targeted female admirers of Johnny Depp, with nearly 200 complaints recorded by the American Federal Trade Commission. This logic of digital identity theft also affects French public figures documented in our “Détournés” series, such as Cyprien or Florent Pagny — in different forms, fraudulent advertisements rather than romance scams.
How to recognise and avoid an AI romance scam
The warning signs are identifiable: a celebrity with no social media presence who suddenly makes contact via private message, a relationship that intensifies rapidly without ever allowing a live video call, financial requests that arise after several months of trust-building.
Any romantic approach online from a public figure should be treated as fraudulent by default.
Content certification: the technical answer to digital identity theft
Without a proof of authenticity established at source, any image or conversation can be fabricated to impersonate a person — famous or not.
Content certification is a direct technical response to this problem: it makes it possible to distinguish authentic content from a fabrication from the moment it is published, regardless of the channel through which it circulates.
Discover how Certiphy.io protects the digital identity →
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