How aI Deepfake of 007 Star Left Art Gallery Owner's World in Tatters
It was the dream finalizing for the owner of an unidentified Nottingham gallery - an exhibit including the work of Hollywood actor-turned-artist Pierce Brosnan, who would also address satisfy fans.
But the gallery's owner has exposed how her income and track record were 'ruined' after the Pierce Brosnan with whom she invested months negotiating the exhibition of a lifetime ended up not to be the Bond star however a 'deepfake'.
Simone Simms has spoken for the very first time about how she fell for the fancy expert system (AI) fraud which resulted in her losing her ₤ 30,000 Long Eaton gallery.
Ms Simms informed The Mail on Sunday she was 'villainised' after offering ₤ 20,000 worth of tickets to art lovers with the pledge of conference 71-year-old Brosnan, just to discover she had been duped.
Scammers utilized AI to produce a persuading similarity of Mr Brosnan video-calling her from his ₤ 80million house in Hawaii.
Ms Simms recalled 'how real' he appeared on Zoom and how she 'screeched with excitement that he remained in my living-room talking to me' before taking the bait and sending the scammers ₤ 3,000 for 'shipping fees' for the art.
Her nightmare began when she contacted what she believed to be Mr Brosnan's genuine Facebook page at the start of 2023 and asked if he would exhibit his paintings at her place.
She then says she was contacted by what she thought was the star and around 200 messages were exchanged between them on the Telegram messaging app, including a variety of voice notes going over the exhibit.
The AI deepfake of 007 star Pierce Brosnan that duped art gallery owner Simone Simms
Mrs Simms (pictured, left) fell victim to a fraud that resulted in her losing her ₤ 30,000 art gallery
More than 20,000 tickets were sold with the pledge of conference 71-year-old Brosnan, who fraudsters had actually deepfaked to appear like he was calling Mrs Simms from his ₤ 80million home in Hawaii
A Pierce Brosnan painting. Mrs Simms exchanged 200 messages via Telegram with who she thought was the Bond star
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In one audio message, listened to by The Mail on Sunday, a voice with Mr Brosnan's distinctive Irish accent discusses the upcoming exhibit.
'Simone, it's Pierce Brosnan here, how's it going? Just wished to apologise for not being able to establish a conference,' the voice says.
'I have actually been overloaded recently. Please let your group know that I really appreciate the invitation to the art exhibition.
'I have high expectations it will be a substantial success.'
In a subsequent video call, Mr Brosnan's image appeared on the screen but the noise was off. Messages from the person on the other side of the phone claimed there was a technological issue.
Two of Ms Simms's pals were also in the video conference, one of two Ms Simms thought she had actually had with Brosnan, and were both fooled, utahsyardsale.com insisting she was not an 'moron'.
One of them, artist Neil Adcock, said: 'It appeared like his genuine face. He said his child had set it up for him. He said the sound problem was on our end. It continued for a while.'
Pierce Brosnan at the Art Miami VIP opening in Miami Florida
After the fake event was reserved, Mr Brosnan put out a statement damning the gallery, insisting he 'would never ever charge for a satisfy and welcome'
The genuine Pierce's artwork. Mrs Simms promoted ₤ 500 'fulfill and greet' tickets with the deepfake Mr Brosnan
Another painting the real Mr Brosnan. Mrs Simms states she wishes the actor would acknowledge her as a victim instead of a villain
Others have actually reported being contacted by a phony Facebook account, claiming to be Mr Brosnan. Pictured: One of the real Mr Brosnan's paintings
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Meanwhile, after Ms Simms reserved and marketed her program, the genuine Mr Brosnan saw an ad for the exhibition featuring his art online and provided a statement damning the gallery, insisting he 'would never charge for a fulfill and welcome'.
His attorneys sent her an immediate cease-and-desist letter in November 2023, 3 days after she marketed the ₤ 500 VIP meet-and-greet tickets.
A 'horrified' Ms Simms understood her error and tearfully recalled: 'It was the worst time of my life and it tainted my track record.
'Pierce harmed me by issuing the statement. He must have done more research before he did because he would realise I was only a fan reaching out but he villainised me and that's where it started to fail.
'I wish he would acknowledge me as a victim and not as a villain. He requires to tell the public about what genuinely happened and set the tone.
'I do not hate him, due to the fact that he is a victim too. People abused his image. If I understood it wasn't him, I would never have actually established the exhibition or wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de sold the tickets.'
A photo by Piers Brosnan depicting a green area on the coast
Ms Simms reimbursed the ₤ 20,000 in tickets but was required to shut her gallery in August 2024 after the incident left her in tatters. Pictured: A painting by Pierce Brosnan
One of the genuine Pierce Brosnan's paintings portraying a woman lying down
As quickly as she understood she had been deceived, Ms Simms refunded the ₤ 20,000 in tickets however was forced to shut her gallery in August 2024 after the saga left her track record in tatters, macphersonwiki.mywikis.wiki with numerous still thinking she had attempted to fraud them.
Others have reported being contacted by a phony Facebook account, claiming to be Mr Brosnan, asking which of his films is their favourite before asking for money.
It comes as last month The Mail exposed how a separated lady was deceived into handing over ₤ 700,000 to a fraudster posing as Brad Pitt and requested for morphomics.science money to money his urgent kidney cancer treatment.
Mr Brosnan has been approached for comment.
NottinghamPierce BrosnanHawaii