Nottingham Gallery Owner Defrauded by Deepfake Impersonating Pierce Brosnan
A Nottingham gallery owner was defrauded by scammers using deepfake video and voice-cloning technology to impersonate Pierce Brosnan over several months. The deception led to her selling tickets to fans and losing £30,000 when the real Brosnan denied involvement.
What happened
Simone Simms, owner of a Long Eaton gallery in Nottingham, contacted what she believed to be Pierce Brosnan's Facebook page in early 2023 to propose an art exhibition. She subsequently exchanged approximately 200 messages with someone she believed was Brosnan via Telegram, including voice notes with what sounded like his distinctive Irish accent.
During video calls, an image appearing to be Brosnan was displayed, though the audio was initially silent with claims of technical issues. Scammers used AI to generate deepfake video and voice clones to impersonate the actor and convince Simms to proceed with booking the exhibition and selling tickets.
Reported impact
Simms sold £20,000 worth of tickets to art lovers with the promise of meeting Brosnan and sent £3,000 to the scammers for alleged 'shipping fees' for the art. After the real Brosnan saw an advertisement for the exhibition and issued a statement denying involvement, Simms lost her £30,000 gallery and said her livelihood and reputation were 'ruined'.
Index analysis
The scam exploited deepfake video and voice-cloning technology to create a convincing impersonation of the actor across multiple communication channels. The scammers maintained the deception over several months of exchange, including interactive video calls witnessed by Simms's friends.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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