File this one under one of the more bizarre (and ultimately heartbreaking) stories to emerge in 2024. It seems there has been a rash of online scammers pretending to be actor Johnny Depp. Like many such cases, the targets are elderly individuals who are contacted by someone claiming to be either Depp or his fictitious manager, who convinces them to send tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases, to the “actor.”
According to Gizmodo, 197 individual complaints were made to the Federal Trade Commission in the past year regarding scams involving Depp impersonators. In almost all the cases, communications between the scammer and the victim started on social media apps like Facebook before moving to messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or Zangi. Money transfers occurred via Coinbase, Bitcoin ATMs, Zelle, PayPal, and gift cards, among other methods.
This type of scam is known as pig-butchering, in which victims are flattered with romance and other forms of connection in order to bilk them out of as much money as possible. Not all pig-butchering scams utilize fake celebrity interactions, but it’s a common tactic among the perpetrators of these fraudulent exchanges. Sometimes these scammers promise a return on financial investments that never materialize, but in other cases the victim simply believes they are helping a friend in need.
But why is Johnny Depp such a prominent figure in these scams? The actor’s age may have something to do with it. Depp is 61, and the majority of the victims are also in their sixties, meaning they were likely to have become Depp fans during his heyday in the 1990s.
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The Scammers Use a Variety of Tactics to Swindle Their Victims
Gizmodo reprinted 25 of the 197 complaints obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, with the personal information of the victims and their families redacted. Reading through them, several patterns emerge. In addition to the investment angle, the scammers also prey on their victims’ goodwill. In one case, the impostor Depp said he needed help paying the IRS, while in others, the scammer claimed to have been in an accident or to have been badly beaten and in need of financial assistance.
In numerous instances, Apple gift cards ranging from $25 to $500 were sent to the fake Depp or his management team. Others purchased plane tickets and celebrity “access cards” to visit the actor in Los Angeles and other locales. In a few of the cases, the “relationship” is romantic in nature, with the impostor promising to sweep the individuals off their feet.
It can be hard to believe that someone would fall for these scams, but consider that the victims are seniors, many of whom suffer from some sort of mental decline. This, combined with the loneliness some victims experience and the convincing nature of the scam, makes for a perfect storm. After all, these scams are considered predatory for a reason: they know exactly how to manipulate these individuals into giving them exactly what they want.
Always remember the golden rule when it comes to celebrity interactions online – if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
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