Fraudsters claiming to be Brad Pitt arrested after conning women out of $350,000 in celebrity romance scam

It’s just a few months since police issued a warning online daters to look out for fake celebrity profiles after a woman lost around £5,000 to a romance fraudster who was posing as TV chef James Martin.

In another case, a woman was also tricked into sending explicit images to a romance fraudster she believed was Take That frontman Gary Barlow. The fraudster then threatened to share the images, which she sent to them on TikTok, with her friends and family.

Pitt's rep has now also spoken out on the issue and reminded fans of the 60-year-old Oscar winner that he does not have any official social media accounts.

He told American publication PEOPLE in a statement issued yesterday (Wednesday September 25): "It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities, and this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence."

It comes after Spain's Ministry of the Interior said in a statement on Monday (September 23) that five people had been arrested and more people are under investigation in connection to a "criminal organization" where posed as a "fake Brad Pitt" to target the star’s fans. The suspects allegedly defrauded over $350,000 (around £260,000) from two women online.

In a press release, which was translated from Spanish in to English, the police said the scammers messaged the victims pretending to be Pitt, promising them they would soon be in a romantic relationship. After gaining their trust, the alleged scammers then asked the women to transfer money to them, claiming it would be invested in various projects together.

Three suspects were arrested in November and two more were arrested in July. The charges against them include fraud, money laundering and forgery.

Pitt is not the only celebrity who has had fraudulent accounts made for them by scammers in an attempt to solicit and scam on social media. Famous faces such as Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Florence Pugh and Johnny Depp are among those who have previously had to warn their fans against fake accounts.