A Reddit user shared that his aunt genuinely believed she was talking to Hugh Jackman through “private accounts” on WhatsApp.
The scammers apparently convinced her that:
Hugh needed secret accounts because his managers and ex-wife were monitoring him publicly.
What’s creepy is that even after realizing it might be fake… she still kept replying.
Her family is now trying to completely lock down her phone because the situation got so bad.
Honestly this feels less like a normal scam story and more like a glimpse into where internet culture is heading.
People already spend years building emotional attachments to influencers, streamers, creators, celebrities, random online personalities…
Now scammers are hijacking that emotional connection directly.
And with AI-generated photos, voice cloning, and fake video calls getting better every month, this kind of thing is probably going to happen way more often.
The scammers apparently convinced her that:
Hugh needed secret accounts because his managers and ex-wife were monitoring him publicly.
What’s creepy is that even after realizing it might be fake… she still kept replying.
Her family is now trying to completely lock down her phone because the situation got so bad.
Honestly this feels less like a normal scam story and more like a glimpse into where internet culture is heading.
People already spend years building emotional attachments to influencers, streamers, creators, celebrities, random online personalities…
Now scammers are hijacking that emotional connection directly.
And with AI-generated photos, voice cloning, and fake video calls getting better every month, this kind of thing is probably going to happen way more often.
