He hadn’t posted anything on social media for almost a year. But if Florent Pagny spoke out on Instagram on Monday, August 12, it was to denounce a scam that one of his fans had been the victim of. Using artificial intelligence, scammers generated videos of the singer, usurping his identity to extort a few hundred euros from a woman.
“It’s been almost a year since I posted anything on Instagram, I don’t like social networks. I recognize their practical side but I especially recognize their toxic side,” begins the singer, who announced in 2022 that he was suffering from lung cancer.
To raise awareness among Internet users, the 62-year-old artist told the story of one of his fans who believed “for some time believed she had a direct and private relationship” with him. The scammers, who pretended to be Florent Pagny, established a relationship with this woman to scam her “of a few hundred euros”.
“I never filmed this”
To convince their victim, the scammers sent her a video, created using artificial intelligence: “Hello Catherine, I hope you are well. I am making this little video to inform you that it is indeed me you are talking to and not these hackers who are pretending to be me”, we can hear in this video shared by Florent Pagny.
“It’s my voice, it’s me speaking but I never filmed this. This is the film I made in 2022 to announce my problem and cancel the end of my tour. With artificial intelligence, they are capable of doing this. They are garbage,” explained the singer, before warning his fans.
“You can’t imagine for a second that an artist, a public figure, can give you a phone number or a contact through social networks. It’s not possible. If you haven’t met him, it can’t happen. Please, stop being so naive, it costs too much,” he insisted.
“We must not cry victory too quickly”
The singer also took advantage of this video to give some news about his health and tell his fans that “everything is fine”. “Over the past year, I have had four check-ups that are good, that are stable. But after having experienced two relapses, we know that we should not cry victory too quickly, and for a few years I will have these check-ups,” he explained.
Florent Pagny, who suffers from lung cancer, has been receiving treatment since 2022. That year, he was forced to cancel his tour due to his state of health.
Despite a relapse in April 2023, the artist, who has undergone several chemotherapies, is doing better. He has made a few appearances, such as in June 2023 at a festival in Nîmes or a few months later, in November 2023, on the set of the Star Academy.