Gotta say, choosing Brad Pitt as your catfishing alter ego is impressively ambitious. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am still surprised it worked.
I suppose that, as long as they never meet they could claim to be anyone.
I know they’ve been specifically targeted but you’d wonder why alarm bells weren’t going off:
“They also used instant messaging platforms to exchange messages and emails with the two women until they reached a point where they believed they were chatting via WhatsApp with Brad Pitt himself, who promised them a romantic relationship and a future together.”
If Angelina Jolie started messaging me, told me we could get together and then started asking for cash, I’d want some pretty good proof and/or a video chat before I sent her a tenner. So don’t get any funny ideas @MargotRobbie@lemmy.world!
If Angelina Jolie started messaging me, told me we could get together and then started asking for cash
Pfffft, fat chance of that happening. Angie and I have been messaging each other on MySpace since 2003 and she’s devoted to me. I love her quirky use of grammar and occasional hilarious spelling mistakes. One day we’ll meet when I’ve saved up enough to pay for her airfare over here (she can’t book tickets herself because fans would mob her), and then we can begin our life together properly.
Only pay after she asks you to “do the needful”, that’s how you know it’s really her.
That’s what I mean like, it baffles me people aren’t asking questions. A pretty stranger on the internet? I can see why a lonely, depressed and desperate person gets fooled. Brad fucking Pitt? Come on now.
With the right knowhow people can live deepfake her face and use AI to clone her voice. So a videochat should also not be enough for this but many people would fall for it anyhow.
There is no scenario where Brad Pitt, who is worth $400,000,000.00, and lives a very private life, is going to ask regular ol working people for money. People really need some lessons in critical thinking.
“The suspects made contact with the women on an internet page…”
[ Record scratch ]
This is illegal. While Trump does the exact same grift in broad daylight in front of millions.
He pretends to be a human being.
It’s weird that you so rarely hear about this happen to men. Is it so commonplace it’s not worth reporting on, or are we a lot more sceptical?
I honestly feel that I see far more of these pieces about men than women. I suggest that it is neither of your hypotheses, but that you are looking in the wrong places.
I don’t actively go looking for these stories, to be fair.
Sextortion victims are primarily men. So no, you are just living under a rock
So, the first option?
I have seen the topic of pig butchering scams come up in multiple news articles, podcasts, and web news shows. Women are not the only ones lonely enough to be victims of this. What you have here is a combination of your own confirmation bias boosted by a false dichotomy.
