Police in Spain have arrested five people in connection to an online romance scam centred around A-list actor Brad Pitt, which saw two women conned out of over €350,000 (C$487,800).
The arrests were announced by Spain’s Interior Ministry on Monday. The authority said the five accused persons contacted their victims through an online fan page dedicated to Pitt and allegedly posed as the Fight Club actor.
Once the scammers had convinced the two victims that they were in fact Pitt through various instant messages and emails, they led the women to believe they’d entered into a romantic relationship with the actor. Then, they’d ask for money to invest in phoney commercial projects allegedly involving Pitt.
News of the arrests prompted a representative for Pitt to ask his fans to be cautious online — and to remind admirers that Pitt himself does not have any authorized social media accounts.
“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities,” Matthew Hiltzik, Pitt’s publicist, told the New York Times. “But this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence.”
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Both victims of the romance scam are Spanish residents. One woman, who lives near Bilbao, transferred the fake Pitt €150,000 (C$225,100). The second woman, who lives in Granada, lost €175,000 (C$262,600) to the scammers.
Three of the arrests were made in November, while the other two came later in July. The five suspects have been charged with fraud and money laundering, authorities revealed.
The scammers reportedly developed a psychological profile of their victims by crawling their personal social media accounts to determine whether or not they may be a vulnerable person.
Authorities said the five arrested persons belong to a “criminal organization.” The operation utilized fake bank accounts and money “mules” in African nations including Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, who authorities said laundered the stolen funds for a small fee.
Spain’s Interior Ministry reported they were able to recover €85,000 (C$127,600) of the original sum lost by the two victims.
In 2023, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) said more than $50 million was reported lost in romance scams across 945 victims in the country. Romance scams were the cause of some of the highest financial fraud losses reported to authorities that year.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police encourage social media users to remain skeptical of messages from unknown persons. The organization recommends conducting a thorough internet search of a person’s identity. They also claim that if a person has “fallen in love fast” or asks for money, it should be seen as a red flag.
If you or someone you know is a victim of an online romance scam, you should file a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
