A spokesperson for Brad Pitt has responded to viral reports that a 53-year-old French woman was scammed out of $850,000 by online fraudsters who impersonated the Oscar-winner. 

“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of the strong bond between fans and celebrities,” the spokesperson said in a statement obtained by E News. “But this is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence.”

The viral story first emerged last Sunday on the current affairs show Sept à huit on the French TF1 network.

The 53-year-old, named Anne, told Sept à huit that the elaborate scam began in September 2023 when she received a message on Instagram from someone who claimed to be Pitt’s mother. 

Anne told the show that Pitt’s mother quickly played matchmaker and connected her with the actor. The scammers used fake social media accounts and AI-generated selfies to appear as Pitt in correspondence with Anne. 

Anne spent over a year communicating with the scammers, according to a France 24 report. Eventually, the fraudsters – still impersonating Pitt – told Anne that the actor needed urgent surgery to treat kidney cancer. They told her that Pitt’s bank accounts had been frozen by his ex-wife Angelina Jolie. She transferred $850,000 to an account managed by the scammers. 

Anne realized it was a scam after reading tabloid reports about Pitt and his partner Inès de Ramon. She reported the incident to French police, who launched an investigation last summer. 

After Anne’s Sept à huit episode was aired it quickly went viral. The channel later pulled the episode from its website, citing online harassment leveled at Anne. French network BFMTV reported that Anne had been hospitalized with severe depression following the ordeal.