France investigates case of woman who was scammed by fake Brad Pitt

French authorities have launched an investigation into the identity of the people who scammed a woman believed to be helping American actor Brad Pitt financially, a police source said.

In a program on the private channel TF1, the woman, identified only as Anne, explained that she believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, which led her to divorce her husband and transfer 830 thousand euros (R$5.1 million at the current rate) for the swindlers.

The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as AI imaging technology, to send Anne what appeared to be selfies and other messages from Pitt.

To get the amount, the scammers pretended that the 61-year-old actor needed money to pay for kidney treatment, as his bank accounts were supposedly frozen due to his divorce from his ex-wife Angelina Jolie.

The case went viral and was followed by a wave of mockery against the woman.

A spokesperson for Brad Pitt warned fans about scammers using his image, speaking to Entertainment Weekly.

Investigators have not yet identified any suspects and are focusing on locating the accounts that received money transfers from the victim, who filed a complaint in La Réunion, a French department in the Indian Ocean.

These types of scams have been around for years, but the advent of artificial intelligence has increased the risk of identity theft, scams and online fraud, according to experts.