B2 – Upper Intermediate
One of the uses of technology that has emerged is for meeting someone new or potentially, finding love online.
Unfortunately, many fall victim to love scams that have become so prevalent all over the internet, leaving their victims to hang out dry.
A French woman was conned by people who purported as Brad Pitt and other individuals that were supposedly connected to the Hollywood actor.
By the end of it, she was conned out of €830,000 which left her not only so heartbroken, but also broke.
Read the article about Anne who was duped by scammers using deepfakes and AI Brad Pitt.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgnz8rw1xgo
Vocabulary Questions:
- What is does “come forward” mean? ”She has since told a popular French YouTube show that she was not “crazy or a moron”: “I just got played, I admit it, and that’s why I came forward, because I am not the only one.” Use this phrase in a sentence.
- What does “come to light” mean? “Hundreds of social media users mocked Anne, who the programme said had lost her life’s savings and tried to take her own life three times since the scam came to light.” Use this expression in a sentence.
- What does the idiom “set off alarm bells” mean? “Somebody purporting to be Pitt got in touch the next day, which set off alarm bells for Anne.” Use this expression in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What is your reaction and opinion about what happened to Anne?
- What are your thoughts on this statement, “Life today is paved with cybertraps… and AI progress will only worsen this scenario.”
- What are ways to tell that something/a correspondence with somebody on the internet is a scam?
- Do you know a similar story about someone who got duped online? Tell that story.