Fraudsters posing as Brad Pitt was one of two online romance scams targeting two victims in Lymington
FRAUDSTERS posed as Hollywood movie star Brad Pitt in one of two romance scams which targeted Lymington residents.
More than £1,000 was stolen in one of the online offences, which comes months after two New Forest residents were fleeced of thousands by scammers pretending to be pop superstars Sir Tom Jones and Celine Dion.
The bogus Brad Pitt contacted a woman in her 70s via Facebook on 4th October, stating that they were in a relationship.
A Hampshire police spokesperson told the A&T it was currently unknown what had been stolen in this incident.
With a reported net worth of over £300m, award-winning actor and producer Brad Pitt’s career goes back almost four decades.
Lymington neighbourhood policing team acting Sgt Leigh Brown said: “A celebrity worth millions does not need or want your money, so please keep your money yours.”
The other romance scam saw a man in his 20s contacted via dating website DateBookSingle between 25th and 27th September.
He lost £1,300 via a mobile payment service after being asked to send more money to register.
These latest scams prompted police to issue a reminder of caution when speaking to people online, and urge relatives, friends and neighbours of those who are elderly or vulnerable to help keep them safe.
As reported in the A&T, a Milford woman in her 90s was conned into paying out £13,000 in the Sir Tom Jones scam back in July.
The fraudster posing as the Welsh singer had contacted her via Facebook and the Zangi message app, promising a car if she paid costs and taxes in the form of gift cards.
Between April and June, someone claiming to be Celine Dion contacted a Lymington man in his 60s via Facebook and the Telegram messenger app
Telling him “she” had been robbed, the suspect persuaded the victim to pay out a total of £910 in money and gift cards.
Following the latest scams, acting Sgt Brown said: “Although it is often the more vulnerable and elderly members of our community who are victims of these particular crimes, these types of criminals can target anyone.
“The offenders gain their trust and convince them to part with their hard-earned money and savings.
“We’re determined to do as much as we can to reduce the number of victims of this type of crime.
“A part of this is continuing to share advice covering just some of the things to be mindful of when engaging with people online, particularly those you’ve never previously met in the real world.”
Scams should be reported to the social media site involved, as well as to Action Fraud and the police.
Anyone with information about the romance scams should contact officers via hampshire.police.uk or call 101, quoting reference 44240435270 for the Brad Pitt offence or 44240428878 for the dating site incident.
Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously at crimestoppers-uk.org or on 0800 555 111.
