Pauley Perrette, the actress best known for her beloved role as Abby Sciuto on NCIS, opened up about a troubling issue she never anticipated. While many fans adore her for her role on the long-running crime drama, Perrette is now using her platform to raise awareness about a serious problem: online impersonation.
Pauley Perrette as forensic scientist Abby Sciuto in NCIS | Credits: CBS
Scammers have been pretending to be the actress on social media, tricking unsuspecting fans and even personal connections. What’s even more shocking? This isn’t just happening to her but high-profile stars, including Brad Pitt, have also fallen victim to similar scams.
How did Pauley Perrette react to scammers pretending to be her?
Pauley Perrette as Abby Sciuto in NCIS | image: CBS
Pauley Perrette famous for her role as Abby Sciuto on NCIS for 15 seasons, opened up about a shocking experience involving social media impersonation. In an emotional Instagram video, she shared how scammers had been posing as her online and targeting her fans. Perrette admitted in the video “I was so frustrated,” recalling a disturbing story from a fan.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pauley Perrette (@thepauleyp)
The fan explained how a family member had been tricked by someone pretending to be Perrette and even asked for money. Perrette also shared that her pastor had received a fake friend request from someone impersonating her on Facebook – an account she doesn’t even have. She said:
I didn’t get it. I mean, I didn’t get why anybody would want to impersonate someone else, but what I did get was that this was dangerous. And they were asking people for money.
She urged fans to be cautious and made it clear that the only platform she uses to interact with fans is Cameo. In the caption of her post, the actress expressed heartfelt sympathy for the many fans affected by these scams. She wrote “I am so sorry that this is happening to so many of you. It’s AWFUL.”
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Perrette’s message serves as a powerful reminder of the dangers of online impersonation and the importance of staying vigilant. While this is shocking, it is nothing compared to what happened with Brad Pitt, highlighting how far-reaching and dangerous these scams can be.
Woman lost her life savings to an online scammer pretending to be Brad Pitt
A French woman named Anne lost €830,000 to scammers pretending to be Hollywood actor Brad Pitt. She believed she was in a relationship with him for over a year, leading her to send money multiple times. The scam started when she downloaded Instagram in early 2023. She was then contacted by someone claiming to be Pitt’s mother, who said her son “needed a woman like her” via BBC News.
Brad Pitt in a still from Bullet Train | image: Sony Pictures
Soon after, she started chatting with someone posing as Brad Pitt. Despite some initial doubts, Anne, who wasn’t familiar with social media, didn’t realize she was being tricked. The scammers continued to manipulate her, saying Pitt wanted to send her gifts but needed her help to pay customs fees. They even convinced her to send €9,000, claiming Pitt’s bank accounts were frozen due to his divorce with Angelina Jolie.
As time passed, the fake Pitt sent Anne fake photos of himself in a hospital bed, asking for money for his cancer treatment. Anne, who had been awarded €775,000 after a divorce, transferred all of it to the scammers believing she was helping save his life.
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When she saw real photos of Brad Pitt with his new girlfriend, she became suspicious but was still tricked by the scammers who sent her a fake news video. However, it wasn’t until June 2024, when Pitt made his relationship official that she realized the truth.
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