Brad Pitt‘s consultant has spoken out after scammers had been arrested for impersonating the actor to defraud girls on social media. The Oscar winner, who doesn’t have any official social media accounts, issued a warning by way of his rep on Wednesday, alerting followers of the brand new rip-off.
“It is terrible that scammers make the most of followers’ sturdy reference to celebrities, and this is a crucial reminder to not reply to unsolicited on-line outreach, particularly from actors who haven’t any social media presence,” Pitt’s rep advised PEOPLE.
Spain’s Ministry of the Inside introduced that 5 individuals had been arrested, and extra are beneath investigation, for his or her involvement in a “prison group” that allegedly scammed two girls of over $350,000. Authorities stated the scammers posed as a “pretend Brad Pitt” to deceive followers, promising romantic relationships and asking the ladies to switch cash for funding tasks.Three suspects had been arrested in November, and two extra had been arrested in July, with costs together with fraud, cash laundering, and forgery.
A number of different celebrities have beforehand warned followers about pretend accounts attempting to rip-off individuals on-line. Stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, and Johnny Depp have all spoken out about comparable incidents.
In August, actress Florence Pugh took to her Instagram Tales to deal with fraudulent accounts pretending to be her. “Simply needed to remind everybody that I haven’t got some other account aside from this one,” Pugh, 28, shared. She added that some individuals had been requested for cash or private communication from pretend accounts claiming to be her.
“I am firstly sorry that this can be a bizarre pastime that some individuals like doing, and I am additionally sorry that you simply had been [led] to consider that these areas had been protected,” Pugh stated, urging followers to unfollow and report the pretend accounts.
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