Spanish police announced on Monday the arrest of five individuals for scamming two “vulnerable and depressed” women out of $360,000 by impersonating American actor Brad Pitt online and on WhatsApp.
According to a statement from the Spanish Civil Guard, the suspects contacted the two victims through a fan website dedicated to the actor. Over time, they convinced the women that they were in a romantic relationship with Pitt.
Posing as the Hollywood star, the fraudsters eventually persuaded the women to invest in various non-existent business ventures. One woman from Andalusia was scammed out of $194,000, while another from the Basque Country lost $167,000.
The police report highlighted that the scammers had “studied the victims’ social media profiles” and discovered that the women were emotionally vulnerable and suffering from depression.
The criminals used messaging platforms to exchange emails and WhatsApp messages with the victims, leading them to believe they were communicating directly with Brad Pitt. The fake Brad Pitt promised them “romantic relationships and a shared future,” according to the police statement.
Spanish authorities arrested five suspects in Andalusia and managed to recover $95,000 of the stolen funds. During the raids, police seized mobile phones, bank cards, personal computers, and notebooks containing the phrases the scammers used to deceive their victims.
