Celebrity scams: Why people fall for scams featuring famous faces like Brad Pitt - and why it could happen to you

Brad Pitt's image has been used by scammers multiple times to con his fans out of millions. Photo / Getty Images

You’ve all read the headlines: "Woman conned out of her life savings by an AI version of Brad Pitt", "Man loses thousands to crypto scheme fronted by a fake Rod Stewart" - and likely laughed at the gullible people who fall for what seem like such obvious scams.

But while it can be hard to believe it could happen to you, it’s not quite so simple.

It might not be a Brad Pitt romance scam, but if a well-known Kiwi popped up on your phone talking about a new life-changing supplement, you’d probably take notice.

It’s estimated that New Zealanders lost $2.3 billion in online scams last year, according to online safety organisation Netsafe.

Chief executive of Age Concern Karen Billings-Jensen says the use of AI to recreate celebrities' faces means it’s “becoming increasingly hard to tell fact from fiction”.

An AI version of Brad Pitt was used to trick a French woman out of $1.5 million.

“Some of them are still quite clumsy; I think the challenge is that they will become more sophisticated,” she tells the Herald.

“Most people hear these stories and think that ‘I would never be gullible’ - but the fact is that we actually often tend to have an increased belief in our own ability to do that, and scammers are clever.”

Billings-Jensen notes that we tend to implicitly trust familiar faces, whether they’re movie stars or local celebrities.

“I don’t think he’s involved in any scams, but for example, Bradley Walsh on The Chase - he’s in many people’s living rooms five nights a week, and he’s personable, and so there becomes an emotional connection with him.

Age Concern chief executive Karen Billings-Jensen. Photo / Mike Clare

“It’s that whole psychology around people who we identify with and who we then feel are trustworthy - we know them and know their lives. In New Zealand, it’s often been our news presenters - so our Hilary Barry with her gummies, Hayley Holt used to get a whole lot as well.

“They particularly target women presenters and weight loss and things like that, which actually speaks to a whole other issue around sexism and misogyny.”

Chief online safety officer at Netsafe Sean Lyons says the organisation sees “a lot” of scams featuring famous faces.

“The technology is getting to the point that they are so convincing, that people are increasingly struggling to tell what is a scam apart from what might be a piece of advertorial journalism on a current affairs show or what might be a paid advert on an online platform,” he tells the Herald.

“So you’ve got these two things happening simultaneously, the blurring of the way in which people are accessing their media, and the nature of how advertising is changing in that environment.”

Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons. Photo / Supplied

“What we’re seeing the scammers doing is exactly what products and services have long been genuinely paying celebrities to do in terms of product endorsement. When I was a kid, if a famous footballer had been advertising Coca-Cola, I’d have been out there buying it by the gallon, and I think that’s the same thing scammers are relying on.”

In 2025, it’s easier than ever to recreate a celebrity’s voice and image from the wealth of photos, videos and audio available online, he points out.

“Politicians, movie stars, anybody who’s ever been on Graham Norton - there’s a good whack of information in terms of their face, facial movements and audio, probably enough to make a decent stab at that impersonation.”

How can we protect ourselves and others from scammers?

While Age Concern provides advocacy for older Kiwis, Billings-Jensen says it’s important to note that our seniors aren’t necessarily more vulnerable to scams than younger people. “It’s across all ages.”

However, get-rich-quick schemes can look attractive to those who are nearing retirement.

“They might have a focus really on needing more money for their retirement or to pass on to their children and grandchildren. So the motivation can be because they want to support their family.”

Kiwis of all ages can be vulnerable to scams. Photo / 123rf

Billings-Jensen wants to remind Kiwis that “you’ve got the right to be suspicious”.

“I’ve always lived by, ‘if it looks to good to be true, then it probably is’. It’s a very old mantra, but it’s not wrong,” she says.

“Slow things down, ask advice, and if it’s a product from a particular company, check the company - don’t click on links. At any time, you can stop a conversation. You don’t have to be polite.”

Lyons urges “caution and vigilance”.

“And that’s not to put the blame on the people that are tricked by these things. If they happened between a retailer and a customer, they’d be frauds - there’d be a con and somebody would be in serious bother about it,” he points out.

“It’s stopping and taking a breath and saying, ‘Hang on a second, how likely is it that Angelina Jolie is giving me advice on nail fungus?’”

He suggests asking whānau or friends for a second opinion.

“Somebody that’s not quite as emotionally attached to either the person that’s doing the convincing, or the issue that they’re trying to solve, be it a new job or weight loss or whatever it is - someone that’s not quite as personally attached to those two things might be able to give you a slightly different objective look.

“That might be the kind of thing that could stop or at least put some space between you and the ‘deal’ that’s being offered to you and make you think, ‘Hang on, how real is this? Maybe I don’t want to go any further with this'.

In June last year, Consumer NZ launched a campaign and petition calling on the Government, banks and other agencies to unite in taking action against scammers.

The consumer affairs watchdog said its research showed all Kiwis were at risk of being scammed, across all ages, genders, ethnicities, incomes and levels of education.