How Erik Bergman Lost $1.25 Million to a Crypto Scam

Even business acumen of the highest level will not be able to save you from complex scams, as Erik Bergman discovered this weekend. The co-founder of Catena Media and the founder of Great.com was ensnared in an elaborate scheme that drained 1.25 million dollars from his bank account. There is more below.

Rather than keeping it to himself, Bergman went public with his story on social media. The 37-year-old entrepreneur posted on X a message of being tricked, blaming himself for feeling “ashamed and stupid,” and referring to the incident as a “very skillfully orchestrated” operation.

The scammers deceived Bergman by posing as a genuine charitable cause. MrBeast and Mark Rober, famous YouTubers, sent him a personal message, inviting him to support their Team Water project, which focuses on installing water wells in African countries. After a thorough dive into the global water crisis, Bergman chose to donate $1 million to the initiative. MrBeast publicized the donation; thus, the whole thing appeared to be completely transparent.

Even so, the scammers were quick to snatch the good fortune for themselves. Pretending to be Team Water officials, they sent a fake message via WhatsApp with such an offer: a private trip to Africa for the largest donors. Then they tricked him into entering the allegedly prestigious group chat where MrBeast, Mark Rober, and several billionaires and YouTube celebrities were chatting.

The deceivers had a very specific image of the victim they were going to target. Bergman, when later confessing, said that during his interaction with them, he felt like “a 13-year-old boy wanting to fit in.” He was so hesitant to send messages that he was scared that he might appear “uncool” to the other supposed investors.