In the UK, art gallery owner Simone Simms revealed that she was scammed by a fraudster using artificial intelligence to mimic Hollywood star Pierce Brosnan and had to close her art gallery. Fraud with artificial intelligence has been reported in the UK. Simone Simms, owner of an art gallery in Nottingham, stated that she was deceived by a fraudster using artificial intelligence to mimic Hollywood star Pierce Brosnan and had to close her gallery. Simms explained that she had engaged in months of negotiations for an exhibition featuring paintings by Brosnan and an event where Brosnan would meet his fans, only to realize that the person she was interacting with online was not actually Pierce Brosnan from the James Bond films, but instead a fake image created with artificial intelligence.

LOST GALLERY
Speaking to the British media, Simms disclosed that due to the scam, she lost the gallery worth £30,000 and her reputation was completely ruined. After selling tickets worth £20,000 to art enthusiasts promising them a meeting with 71-year-old Hollywood star Brosnan, Simms realized that she had been scammed through artificial intelligence. She expressed her dismay at people assuming she was behind it to sell tickets, leading to her reputation being tarnished.

VIDEO CALLS WERE MADE
Simms noted that the scammers went to great lengths to convince her by even conducting a video call, disguising it as being made from Brosnan’s residence in Hawaii. She described the video call over the “Zoom” video conferencing app as looking very authentic, mentioning that she screamed with excitement during the call with ‘Brosnan,’ ultimately falling into the scammers’ trap and sending £3,000 to cover shipping costs of the art pieces.

VOICE IMITATION
In early 2023, by contacting a Facebook page she believed to be Brosnan’s official social media account and expressing her desire to exhibit paintings in her art gallery, Simms received responses from someone she thought was the Hollywood star. Through the messaging app Telegram, they engaged in about 200 written exchanges, including voice recordings. A voice message imitating Brosnan’s distinctive Irish accent said, “Simone, this is Pierce Brosnan, how are you? I apologize for not being able to arrange a meeting. I’ve been very busy lately. Please convey to your team that I’m truly grateful for the exhibition invitation. I have great expectations for this exhibition’s success.”

“HE REALLY LOOKED LIKE HIM”
Simms’ friend Neil Adcock, who witnessed the video call with Brosnan, remarked, “He really looked like him. He said his son had set up the call and that the sound issue was on our end. This went on for a while.”

BROSNAN TOOK ACTION UPON SEEING THE AD
Three days after Simms put VIP tickets to the exhibition and event with Brosnan’s fans on sale for £500 each in November 2023, Brosnan’s lawyers sent an urgent cease-and-desist letter to Simms upon seeing the advertisement online. The real Pierce Brosnan, upon learning of the exhibition’s promotion on the internet, warned Simms about her gallery by stating that he had “never charged fans to meet him.”

“WISH HE APPROACHED ME AS A VICTIM INSTEAD OF A CULPRIT”
Simms expressed shock at what had happened, realizing she had been scammed, and stated in her media statement, “It was the worst time of my life, and my reputation was ruined.” She also mentioned feeling hurt by Pierce’s words, saying, “I wish he had approached me as a victim rather than a culprit. He should come clean with the facts and clarify the situation.” Shortly after realizing she had been scammed, Simms refunded the total value of the £20,000 tickets to buyers and had to close her art gallery in August 2024 due to losing her reputation over the incident.