Erik Bergman, the founder of Catena Media and co-founder of Great.com, has shared surprising scam news on his social media, revealing he was tricked out of $1.25 million in a highly convincing cryptocurrency scheme. It all started when Bergman was genuinely contacted by YouTubers MrBeast and Mark Rober about their Team Waterproject, which funds clean
Erik Bergman, the founder of Catena Media and co-founder of Great.com, has shared surprising scam news on his social media, revealing he was tricked out of $1.25 million in a highly convincing cryptocurrency scheme.
It all started when Bergman was genuinely contacted by YouTubers MrBeast and Mark Rober about their Team Waterproject, which funds clean water wells in Africa. Inspired, Bergman pledged $1 million, a donation publicly recognized by MrBeast.
Soon after, scammers pretending to be Team Water representatives reached out via WhatsApp. They invited Bergman to join an exclusive donor trip to Africa and added him to a group chat filled with impersonators posing as billionaires, streamers, and even MrBeast himself.
In the chat, the fake “MrBeast” introduced a supposed secret crypto investment linked to Coinbase. Other impersonators chimed in with excitement, creating pressure to join. Trusting the group, Bergman and a friend sent $500,000, then another $750,000, all of which went straight to the scammers.
However, after noticing suspicious details, like U.S. influencers using foreign numbers, Bergman contacted the real MrBeast, and the truth came out: the group, the trip, and the investment were all fake.
Bergman admitted he felt “ashamed and foolish” for falling victim.
Despite the loss, Bergman chose openness over silence. He says he is still proud of his real donation to Team Water and hopes sharing his experience will warn others.
As his brother reminded him, “Shame only survives in silence.”