No, that’s not Keanu Reeves asking for money — but his AI doppelganger is — and he’s had enough

LOS ANGELES, July 19 — Keanu Reeves may not be on social media, but that hasn’t stopped scammers from turning him into one of the most impersonated celebrities online.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Matrix and John Wick star is paying thousands of dollars a month to a Seattle-based company, Loti AI, to track and remove fake accounts pretending to be him across platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. 

With his blessing, the company’s founder Luke Arrigoni revealed they’ve issued nearly 40,000 takedown requests on Reeves’ behalf over the past year.

“He cares very much about how his fans are treated, and he’s very invested in trying to solve this problem,” Arrigoni reportedly said.

A reporter for The Hollywood Reporter went undercover to investigate one of the scams. 

While the real Reeves was walking the red carpet with girlfriend Alexandra Grant at the John Wick spinoff Ballerina premiere, a fake account named Keanu_Reeves68667 tried to coax the journalist into paying US$600 (RM2,547) for a bogus “VIP” fan club membership, promising an in-person meet-up.

The actor’s widespread appeal — and his almost mythical off-grid persona — have made him an easy target for online manipulation. 

“Pretty much everybody everywhere on Earth likes [him],” the reporter noted, adding that his lack of personal social media makes it harder for fans to distinguish real from fake.

Scammers have used Reeves’ likeness for everything from romance grifts to political messages. 

In one fake image, he appears to endorse Donald Trump. 

In another, he seems to support awareness campaigns for indigenous children who were victims of abusive boarding schools in Canada. 

Most of these images are photoshopped from a Getty photo of Reeves at a motorcycle event in Italy in 2017.

Loti AI typically gets platforms to remove fake accounts within 48 hours, but that’s often enough time for fraudsters to inflict serious harm. 

As The Hollywood Reporter highlighted, the FBI reported nearly US$672 million in losses from romance and confidence scams in 2024 — with older adults particularly vulnerable.

One case involved a 73-year-old woman who lost nearly US$100,000 to a scammer pretending to be Kevin Costner. 

She was convinced to send bitcoin deposits for a fake film project, lured in by messages offering companionship during a difficult time. 

At one point, the fake Costner even sent a photo holding a handwritten sign that read: “It’s really me Kevin Costner. I love you so much… I can’t wait to meet you.”

For his part, Reeves is doing what he can to protect others from similar heartbreak — even if it means fighting an invisible, AI-fuelled army one fake account at a time.