"I'm Brad Pitt, Interested in Investing?" The End of This Romance

Spanish Fraud Syndicate Forms 'Emotional Relationships' to Encourage Investments

A gang that impersonated a famous Hollywood star in Spain and extorted hundreds of millions of won from two women has been arrested. They approached the victims claiming to be actor Brad Pitt, established an "emotional relationship," and encouraged them to invest, according to investigations.

According to Yonhap News Agency citing foreign media, the Spanish police announced on the 23rd (local time) that they arrested five fraudsters, including a gang leader, in the Andalusia region.

Hollywood star Brad Pitt.
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Authorities recovered various pieces of evidence and 85,000 euros from five houses used by the criminals. It is reported that the gang embezzled 175,000 euros (approximately 260 million won) from a woman living in southern Andalusia and 150,000 euros (approximately 220 million won) from another woman in the Basque region.

They approached Ms. A and Ms. B through Brad Pitt’s online fan page, claiming to be Pitt himself and gaining their favor. The police explained, “The criminals analyzed the victims’ social media and created psychological profiles to select targets,” adding, “They identified vulnerable women suffering from emotional deprivation and depression.”

The gang communicated with the two women via instant messenger, exchanging messages and emails repeatedly. This led the women to believe they were in an “emotional relationship” with Pitt. The police stated, “The victims truly believed they were chatting with Pitt,” and “The Pitt in the chats promised the victims a ‘romantic relationship and future.’”

Subsequently, they proposed investment projects to the victims. Ms. A and Ms. B handed over hundreds of millions of won, but the businesses were entirely fictitious.

Meanwhile, romance scams disguised as love affairs continue to occur steadily in Korea as well. According to the National Police Agency, up to August this year, a total of 920 cases and 54.5 billion won (an average of 131 cases and 7.8 billion won per month) in damages have been reported.

The National Police Agency urged, “When receiving texts, links, or social media (SNS) messages that attract attention from a third party, stop and consider whether it might be a scam,” and warned, “Never forget that all information seen on the internet and smartphones could be manipulated or fabricated.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.