Recently, millionaire Erik Bergman told Breakit.se that he was scammed out of $1.2 million, equivalent to over 10 million Swedish kronor. The scammers used none other than YouTube superstar and billionaire Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson to carry out the scam.
Erik Bergman's Journey as a Philanthropist
Erik Bergman made his fortune with Catena Media, an affiliate company that directs visitors to various gaming sites. At just 28 years old, Erik was already a multimillionaire, and he later started Great.com, where affiliate revenue goes to charity instead.
1 Million Donation to MrBeast's Water Project
Erik says he met Jimmy a few years ago when I donated $1.2 million to MrBeast's water project in Africa. This was publicly announced on social media by both MrBeast and Erik, where they shared the information. He had not heard more from MrBeast since then
The WhatsApp Group that Fooled Him
Erik Bergman receives a message on WhatsApp. A group called "TeamWater TopGs" had been created, which pretended to included MrBeast and other profiles such as Adin Ross, Shopify founder Tobias Lutke, and billionaire Ed Craven. Erik was starstruck and didn't quite believe it, saying:
I realize, looking back on it, that I felt like a 13-year-old boy who just wanted to fit in with the cool kids.
Cryptocurrency Enters the Picture
When it comes to scams, cryptocurrencies are the perfect payment method for scammers, as they are very difficult or almost impossible to recover once lost. Erik was offered an exclusive opportunity to invest in a new cryptocurrency project through Coinbase. In total, he sent over $1.2 million in cryptocurrency, before realizing it was all a scam.
MrBeast Tries to Help
Erik then contacted MrBeast to tell him about how he was scammed out of $1.2 million. MrBeast responded by offering a $100,000 reward to anyone who could help provide evidence that could lead to the scammers being caught.
mrbeast on X
Erik Bergman wants to share his story publicly to make it harder for scammers to carry out similar scams. He says:
The more people who hear about this, the harder it will be for these scammers to succeed.
Full story here by Erik Bergman.
Erik also writes on Great.com that he so far in his life donated $6.2 million dollars to various charities.
