Has anyone ever impersonated someone and tried to scam you?

[Kate!]

Curious?

[MTVN]

Nothing apart from the usual spam email attempts

Did anyone see the French woman who thought she was going out with Brad Pitt for over a year and lost all her life savings to him?

[GoldHeart]

Nothing apart from the usual spam email attempts

Did anyone see the French woman who thought she was going out with Brad Pitt for over a year and lost all her life savings to him?

Is that the one where they're pretending Brad Pitt is in hospital with an illness or something? ,I saw it pop up on my YouTube feed ....but I haven't watched it yet .

[Benjamin]

Nothing apart from the usual spam email attempts

Did anyone see the French woman who thought she was going out with Brad Pitt for over a year and lost all her life savings to him?

https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/fake-brad-pitt-2_720.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=o2eMC-fIMLMQH077MwrDcA

[Niamh.]

https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/fake-brad-pitt-2_720.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=o2eMC-fIMLMQH077MwrDcA:laugh2:

[UserSince2005]

I’ve had so many people steal my pics and use them on tinder and Grindr to scam other people

[Crimson Dynamo]

Mike Yarwood in 84

Bastard

[Glenn.]

I’ve had so many people steal my pics and use them on tinder and Grindr to scam other people

Same

[MTVN]

Is that the one where they're pretending Brad Pitt is in hospital with an illness or something? ,I saw it pop up on my YouTube feed ....but I haven't watched it yet .

https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/nationalpost/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/fake-brad-pitt-2_720.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=o2eMC-fIMLMQH077MwrDcA

Yeah I think that was it, she said she checked the image and it wasn't on Google so felt reassured but it's just an AI thing. She's become a real figure of fun over it but I feel awful for her

[Glenn.]

It’s the one with him having an operation that kills me

[Crimson Dynamo]

That hag he married after Jen was his downfall

Get well soon Bradley

[Niamh.]

That hag he married after Jen was his downfall

Get well soon BradleyHim being an alcoholic and abusing his kid was his downfall

[Glenn.]

Him being an alcoholic and abusing his kid was his downfall

Shhhh it’s not the man’s fault. It’s the woman.

[Niamh.]

Shhhh it’s not the man’s fault. It’s the woman.Also, no responsibility at all on him for cheating on his then wife Jen with that "hag"

[Glenn.]

Also, no responsibility at all on him for cheating on his then wife Jen with that "hag"

I said SHHHHHHHH

[Niamh.]

I said SHHHHHHHH[emoji2958]

[bots]

i've not been fooled to date as far as i know, but really, as scammers get better and better, who knows when you will become vulnerable. With big tech collecting information on you from every conceivable avenue, they build a profile of your vulnerabilities and at that point, it's only a matter of time until they get you

[Mystic Mock]

Nothing apart from the usual spam email attempts

Did anyone see the French woman who thought she was going out with Brad Pitt for over a year and lost all her life savings to him?

She what?:shocked:

[Mystic Mock]

Yeah I think that was it, she said she checked the image and it wasn't on Google so felt reassured but it's just an AI thing. She's become a real figure of fun over it but I feel awful for her

The woman should've engaged her brain tbh.

[GoldHeart]

Also, no responsibility at all on him for cheating on his then wife Jen with that "hag"

I've never been a fan of his , in the words of Jennifer Aniston herself " it's not cool" what Brad & Angelina did to her. I don't rate his acting either :idc: .

[Niamh.]

I've never been a fan of his , in the words of Jennifer Aniston herself " it's not cool" what Brad & Angelina did to her. I don't rate his acting either :idc: .Jennifer handled that whole awful situation with such grace as well

[Gusto Brunt]

NO.

But my brother got a text from someone pretending to be his daughter.

The text said: 'Hey dad, I've lost my purse. But need to go to the supermarket to buy my weekly shop. About £200.00 will do. Just send it to this link:

NOT HIS DAUGHTER AND OBVIOUSLY NOT HER BANK ACCCOUNT.

Beware,.

[Vanessa]

Who spends 200 pounds on their weekly shop? D:

[Livia]

I've had a couple of emails in the past from scammers pretending to be someone in my contacts saying they're abroad and in trouble, sick or arrested or something, and need money. Obvious scams.

[Niamh.]

Yeah I've gotten the Hi Mom and dad, I lost my phone, click this link to message me numerous times, clearly scams though

[Benjamin]

I've had a couple of emails in the past from scammers pretending to be someone in my contacts saying they're abroad and in trouble, sick or arrested or something, and need money. Obvious scams.

Sorry, I won’t send anymore. :(

[Livia]

Sorry, I won’t send anymore. :(

Yeah, knock it off, Ben...

[Benjamin]

My fave is “PayPal” telling me I need to update my bank details. I’ve never had PayPal :laugh:

[Benjamin]

Yeah, knock it off, Ben...

You’ll be sorry. I could have been your international prince and you could have shared my wealth if you’d helped me transfer it to your account.

[Beso]

Like I would be the first point of contact for anyone I know.:joker:

[James]

NO.

But my brother got a text from someone pretending to be his daughter.

The text said: 'Hey dad, I've lost my purse. But need to go to the supermarket to buy my weekly shop. About £200.00 will do. Just send it to this link:

NOT HIS DAUGHTER AND OBVIOUSLY NOT HER BANK ACCCOUNT.

Beware,.

Yeah I've gotten the Hi Mom and dad, I lost my phone, click this link to message me numerous times, clearly scams though

I've had the 'Hi Mum' message left on my answerphone for my landline. It was a bit unsettling to listen to.

[Niamh.]

I've had the 'Hi Mum' message left on my answerphone for my landline. It was a bit unsettling to listen to.An actual voice message? Did they think people wouldn't recognise their own kid? :laugh2:

[James]

An actual voice message? Did they think people wouldn't recognise their own kid? :laugh2:

It was kind of muffled sounding. I couldn't make out all the words.

[James]

Apparently AI voice scams are becoming a thing.


.....What are AI voice scams?
First emerging overseas last year, many AI voice scams appear to be an evolution of the text message-based "Hi Mum" scam which gained notoriety in Australia in 2022.

This scam saw criminals contact victims by text, pretending to be a family member (often a child) in urgent need of money after losing their phone.

But the power of AI has now enabled scammers to take their impersonations to the next level, as Toby Murray, associate professor in the school of computing and information systems at the University of Melbourne, explains.

"AI voice-cloning technology allows you to mimic someone's voice pretty closely and [it's] getting good enough now that the results are becoming almost indistinguishable," he says.

concerned_senior_on_phone
Scammers can use voice clones of a loved one in trouble to convince victims to hand over money.

Read more: The new PayPal scam to watch out for

"You can create a convincing, false recording of someone's voice that could then fool a family member into thinking that it's their loved one," Murray explains.

These recordings are then deployed against victims through phone calls or voice messages on social media apps.

But it's not just a family member or friend's voice you might hear on the other end of the line – investment scammers are also deploying this method, enlisting the voices of famous individuals to spruik get-rich-quick schemes and convince victims to hand over their savings......


From https://www.choice.com.au/consumers-and-data/protecting-your-data/data-privacy-and-safety/articles/ai-voice-scams

[Niamh.]

It was kind of muffled sounding. I couldn't make out all the words.And what did they want you to do?

[James]

And what did they want you to do?

I couldn't make it out. Just the 'Hi mum' bit, then an emotional sounding person.

[Benjamin]

Apparently AI voice scams are becoming a thing.



From https://www.choice.com.au/consumers-and-data/protecting-your-data/data-privacy-and-safety/articles/ai-voice-scams

Yeah, it wasn’t going to take them long to use AI for scamming.

[Niamh.]

I couldn't make it out. Just the 'Hi mum' bit, then an emotional sounding person.Creepy

[Gusto Brunt]

I've had the 'Hi Mum' message left on my answerphone for my landline. It was a bit unsettling to listen to.

I can imagine.:shocked::shocked: