Five scammers posing as Brad Pitt have been arrested by the Spanish police who robbed two women of 325,000 Euros. The amount equals more than ₹3 crore. They first contacted the victims by email and WhatsApp messages announcing love for each one of them. After coming in contact with the women on a Brad Pitt fan page, they emotionally manipulated the females.
The fraudsters convinced the women to invest in fraudulent projects, by playing on their psychosocial weaknesses. In the case of five scammers posing as Brad Pitt, the victims are a woman from Andalusia and another from the Basque Country. Both are fragile psychologically and under pressure.
One was scammed to the tune of €175,000, while the other was swindled out of €150,000. The Spanish police revealed that the ladies were depressed and lacked love. It is considered as the reasons why they easily became targets for psychological profiling including five scammers posing as Brad Pitt.
Five scammers posing as Brad Pitt arrested as police played smart: But how?
According to Spain’s guardian police:
“The cybercriminals, to capture the victims, had studied their social networks and made a psychological profile of them, thus discovering that both women were vulnerable, lacking in affection, and in a state of depression,”
The police also carried out an extensive investigation in Andalusia where the fraudsters were apprehended. The police carried out raids in several other provinces like Almería, Málaga, and Barcelona. Evidence obtained from the raids included mobile phones, computers, bank cards, and a diary containing some deceptive phrases used on the victims.
Authorities managed to recover approximately €85,000 in cash, easing the pain inflicted on the victims. The case only highlights a new trend of celebrity impersonation scams, as another identical scam was reported earlier this year, where fraudsters introduced themselves as Kevin Costner. Celebrity scams remain very rampant and pose great danger for emotionally fragile persons. What’s your take on this? Tell us in the comments below.