A Lyon engineer was the victim of a sophisticated scam using the image of actor Jean Reno hijacked by artificial intelligence. A testimony collected by the “Grands Reportages” teams on TF1, which highlights the dangers of false trading platforms.
Leaving everything to start from scratch was Pascal’s project. This 60-year-old engineer, settled in Lyon after a successful career in Canada, was simply looking to invest his savings to provide a house for his family. But its destiny changed on a simple online advertisement.
The bait: a fake video of Jean Reno
As the TF1 investigation reports, it was the face of a celebrity that served as the hook. Pascal comes across a video of Jean Reno recommending an investment platform. “He’s someone I’ve always liked, so that caught my attention,” he explains. In reality, it is a “deepfake”: a video generated by artificial intelligence to perfectly imitate the voice and features of the actor.
Seduced, Pascal registers and is quickly taken in charge by a supposed trader named “Laurent”. The trap closes with formidable efficiency: an initial investment of 250 euros seems to triple in a few weeks on its screen.
The gears: fictitious gains to empty the accounts
To convince him, the scammers use a well-established technique: they authorize Pascal to withdraw 4,000 euros of real winnings. Reassured, the engineer then decides to invest massively. He unlocked 195,000 euros from his Canadian savings, then ended up emptying the family and professional accounts.
On the site interface, everything seems green: in May, his balance shows more than a million euros. But the reality is brutal: the curves and figures are completely faked. When he tries to recover part of his money, his interlocutors become aggressive and ask him to pay again to “save” his account.
“They stole everything from me”
The results are catastrophic. Pascal lost nearly 350,000 euros. “They not only stole my savings, but in a panic, they made me empty my personal, family and professional accounts,” he confided into our colleagues’ microphone.
Today, while his family lives in a small apartment far from their past ambitions, Pascal fights alongside a lawyer. Despite the help of a hacker who tracked down the creator of the platform in India, the investigation has stalled. A year after her complaint, the victim has still not heard from the justice system, denouncing a system where “the crooks just have to lean in and help themselves”.
On the Estelle Midi set this Monday, the columnists compare this unusual story to the affair of Anne and the fake Brad Pitt. “It’s not possible to be fooled like that… The guy is an engineer…” whispers Daniel Riolo on set.
“Even admitting that it’s the real Jean Reno, at what time are you going to trust to invest 350,000 euros in cryptocurrencies? If tomorrow I want to invest so much in crypto, I’m not going to trust Jean Reno for that… I’m going to see bankers, investors, etc.”, concludes economist Pierre Rondeau.
