Sent a normal selfie to a scammer can they do anything with it?

A 53-year-old French woman, identified as Anne, was defrauded of 830,000 euros, equivalent to approximately $851,355, over a two-year period. The victim was convinced she was in a romantic relationship with actor Brad Pitt, who allegedly required financial assistance for cancer treatment. The scam was only uncovered when Anne saw the real actor on television, healthy and in a new relationship, leading her to realize the entire interaction had been a long-term deception.

What happened

The scammer utilized AI-generated imagery to impersonate Brad Pitt, maintaining an extensive text-based relationship with the victim. To sustain the ruse, the perpetrator sent AI-generated poetry and fabricated a story regarding a kidney cancer diagnosis, which was supported by AI-generated photographs. While these images did not require advanced technical skill, they were sufficient to deceive the victim over a two-year span. Throughout the interaction, the scammer successfully avoided real-time phone communication, a common red flag in such schemes. The perpetrator specifically targeted Anne, likely aware of her financial status following a divorce settlement from her millionaire ex-husband. Despite reporting the incident to authorities, the victim has been unable to recover any of the funds lost to the scammer.