Hi everyone,
I hope you’re well today.
Brad Pitt Romance Scam
Be on the lookout for romance scams, where fraudsters feign romantic interest to exploit victims emotionally and financially. In 2023, victims lost over €650 million, according to a recent FBI report.
Scammers often contact numerous individuals worldwide, pretending to be romantically interested. They build online relationships, gain trust, and then start to ask for money. These scammers are very good at what they do; they know all the buttons to press to extract money from their victims.
A recent case in France involved a woman who was deceived into believing she was in a relationship with actor Brad Pitt. The scammer, using a combination of AI-generated images and messages to impersonate the celebrity, stole approximately €850,000 from her.
With the rise of artificial intelligence, it’s crucial to be cautious. You might think you’re conversing with a celebrity, but in reality, you’re interacting with an AI-generated clone. Please be extra careful about receiving phone calls or video messages from people claiming to be celebrities. This is a significant issue where people are losing hundreds of millions of euros every year.
If you receive any unsolicited messages, ask me first. If you’re on a dating application, and the person who refuses to meet you face-to-face starts to ask for money, take a deep breath and ask me first. You can read more about this case involving the actor Brad Pitt by going to this website:
Delivery Scam
I had a conversation with a lady last night who told me that her bank account was emptied by a hacker who sent her a text message claiming to be from the local postal delivery service, saying that a package could not be delivered due to an outstanding tax charge. The text message looked very convincing and told her that a package couldn’t be delivered because a payment needed to be made. The payment was only €2, and when she clicked on the link, it looked like the local Postal Service website. She told me that everything looked legit, so she was heading into yoga class and just clicked on the link, gave her credit card information to pay the €2, and by the time the yoga class was over, she had lost €7,000.
Basically, what happened was that this was a fake website, designed to trick her into giving her credit card information. The hacker then sold her credit card information on the dark web 10 seconds after she had submitted it. By the time she was doing her breathing exercises at the start of the class, her credit card was purchased on the dark web by somebody in India who then used this to extract €7,000 from her bank account in less than 20 minutes.
She did not have any two-factor authentication on her bank account; she did not have any extra security controls on her bank account, which meant that the attacker could steal all of her money in 20 minutes. She is now in the process of trying to get her bank to retrieve the funds, but this is going to be a long process, if successful at all.
If you receive a text message or an email from anybody asking you for your credit card information, stop and do not do it unless you are 100% sure that it is legitimate. Most of the time, it is not legitimate, as most organizations will not just send you a text message asking you for your information. Send the link to me; I will check it for you and let you know if it is legit or not. Please, do not be one of the many millions of people every year that are fooled by these sophisticated scams.
Government Official Impersonation Scams
Beware of government official impersonation scams, where fraudsters pose as representatives from government agencies such as tax authorities or law enforcement to deceive you into providing sensitive information or making payments. The scammers use unsolicited phone calls, emails, or messages, claiming urgent issues like unpaid taxes or legal matters and demand immediate action.
For example, a nurse from Alaska received a call from somebody impersonating a police officer, threatening arrest over missed jury duty unless she paid a fine. She was instructed to deposit money into a Coinstar machine, resulting in a loss of €3,000.
Other versions of the scam involve fake tax agents saying that taxes have to be paid now; otherwise, prosecution will take place. They provide you with a website link that looks very official, and as soon as you give your credit card information, it’s game over. Please, be on the lookout for scams like these. If you have any doubts, tell the person that you will call them back. Call back to the official government phone number and ask them to provide you with their extension so that you can go through the correct channels. If they do not provide you with this information, do not engage. Always, ask me if you have any questions or any doubts.
That’s it. Please be aware that scammers are everywhere. As long as you take caution, you will be okay. For everything else, ask me or ask the incognito team.
Sending you all the best,
Max Roberts