I’ve been warning readers not to fall for scammers posing as Hollywood hard man Jason Statham, but it’s my advice not to fall for scammers posing as The Incredible Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo. It is an obligation.
of Asahi Shimbun report In February 2018, 74-year-old manga artist Chikae Ide received an unsolicited message via Facebook from someone claiming to be Ruffalo.
Skeptical at first, Ide enlisted the help of translation software to reply to the Hollywood actor with a photo of himself attached.
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Glad at the fake Ruffalo response, Ide shared details of her private life and personal struggles.
What was the reaction of “Mark Ruffalo”?
“I will not make you sad.”
An American friend of Ide’s then questioned whether the person claiming to be Ruffalo was real, noting that he wrote “like someone who never learned English”.
But Ide said a 30-second video call dispelled any doubts.
“I’m pretty sure it was Mark himself who was chatting with me behind the screen,” Ide said.
of Asahi Shimbun suggests that this may be a deepfake video, but it is unclear how this decision was reached.
At the time, she was unaware that it was a “deepfake” video, and her romantic feelings for the impersonation intensified.
“He respected my work and told me that this old lady was beautiful,” recalls Ide. “He also said that the age difference wasn’t a problem for him and that he wanted to make me happy.
By September 2018, the couple was “married” online.
You can probably guess where this is going…
The fake Mark Ruffalo started complaining about his financial problems, asking Ide to wire $1,000 for a plane ticket.
Each time, “Ruffalo” promised to return the favor to Ide and demanded more and more money.
Mr. Ide said he was late in paying his assistant wages to cover the cost of selling the jewelry, and he was behind on his utility bills.
the story gets crazy and crazy, but as a result, Ide was swindled out of 75 million yen (over $500,000). No, she had never met the man who cheated her out of a fortune.
Ide recently released a new piece, “Poison Love”, based on her ordeal. To return her money to her friends and acquaintances who lent her money, she says, “I will continue to draw her comics until she dies.”
Please be careful there.
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