Catena 联合创始人将 125 万美元骗局转化为公开分享的教训

当企业家 Erik Bergman 今年早些时候承诺向一个水资源慈善机构捐赠 100 万美元时，这似乎是他公开投身慈善事业的又一例证。然而，随之而来的是一场精心策划的骗局，让他额外损失了 125 万美元。Bergman 没有选择沉默退缩，而是决定公开谈论这段经历，希望自己的透明分享能消除金钱损失带来的耻辱，并帮助他人避免同样的命运。

从慷慨开始的骗局

Bergman 以 Catena Media 联合创始人的身份最为人知，最近也因其在网络上的创业形象而受到关注。他最初接触到的，是一个看似支持 Team Water 的机会。该项目致力于在非洲修建水井，并且似乎得到了 YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson（更广为人知的名字是 MrBeast）以及前 NASA 工程师 Mark Rober 的支持。

Bergman 以为这是真实的呼吁，便承诺捐出 100 万美元，这笔捐款甚至被 MrBeast 在社交媒体上分享。之后，事情开始升级。他被加入了一个看似专属的 WhatsApp 群组，群成员包括知名主播 Adin Ross、YouTuber Tobi Brown，甚至还有与在线赌博公司相关的高管。群内对话轻松随意，大家像老朋友一样调侃玩笑，这个精心设计的假象一天比一天更具可信度。但 Bergman 并不知道，每位参与者都是虚构的。

虚假加密货币推销的形成

建立信任之后，聊天中的“名人”透露了一个针对高净值捐赠者的“独家机会”：获得一个尚未上线的 Coinbase 代币。据 Bergman 回忆，“MrBeast”亲自介绍了这笔交易，将其描绘为对慈善重大贡献者的回报。

在富有同伴的压力下，Bergman 汇出了 50 万美元。当被告知该代币已经大幅升值时，他又追加了 75 万美元。警示信号直到稍后才显现，比如所谓的美国网红竟然用英国电话号码发信息。最后一次致电 Donaldson 本人，才证实了他最担心的事情：整个操作都是骗局。

利用知名加密货币和娱乐界人物名义的骗局正在迅速蔓延。今年六月，BBC 报道称，英国监管机构警告加密货币诈骗同比增长超过 40%，假名人代言成为常见手段。骗子利用公众对名人的信任，加上设定紧迫感的优惠来绕过理性决策。

从损失到教训

经济损失虽大，但 Bergman 更强调了情感上的打击。他将其比作二十多岁时经历的一次小型骗局，当时的经历他直到多年后才向任何人提起。这一次，他选择了不同的方式。

“我决定从一开始就诚实面对，”他在一段坦诚的视频中说道。“羞耻在秘密中滋生，但在分享时就会失去力量。”他先向妻子倾诉，然后向家人和亲密朋友倾诉，并在他们的支持下逐渐处理这段经历。他表示，这个过程“伴随着许多眼泪和一些愤怒的呼喊”，但也避免了诈骗常带来的自责恶性循环。



I just got scammed for $1.25 million.

I feel ashamed and stupid.

This story starts with me getting a phone call from
@MrBeast
  and
@MarkRober
.

They ask me to donate money
@teamwater
. To build wells in Africa and help people get clean water.

I'm surprised by their call. We've met before but haven't spoken in years.

I take a few days to think. I focus on learning more about the water crisis in the world.

I decide to donate $1 million.

MrBeast gets excited about this and tweets to the world about the donation.

I'm proud and excited to be a part of this amazing campaign!

About a week later I get a message from Team Water on WhatsApp on my personal phone number. They are excited about the donation. They invite me on a trip with the top donors to Africa. To see the wells being built and then stay for a few days for a wildlife safari.

To go to Africa and see wells like this being built is long time a dream of mine.

I'm excited to go! I immediately say yes.

Then they add me to a WhatsApp-group with some of the other top donors.

Jimmy (MrBeast that is) is in group, so is Mark Rober and then some well known billionaires like
@StakeEddie
and
@tobi
and streamer super stars like
@adinross
.

I can't believe I'm in this group.

I feel like a 13 year old boy wanting to fit in.

They are all chatting and have a good banter going on.

I find myself writing a message... then deleting what I wrote because it didn't feel cool enough.

I write it again... then delete it.

I can't believe I will be travelling with these people to Africa!

Jimmy tells the group about another charity project he wants to start. Everyone is eager to help out more.

This conversation goes on for about a week.

It's Friday. I'm heading away for a weekend trip with a bunch of my friends. I've been looking forward to this for months. We have a packed schedule and I'm very excited.

On Saturday, Jimmy writes in the chat and tells us about this other opportunity. He has just signed a deal with
@coinbase
, one of the largest crypto exchanges that will launch their own crypto coin.

As a part of a marketing collaboration Jimmy has gotten the chance to buy in early on this coin.

As a thank you he wants to extend this offer to anyone who donated over $1 million.

Everything is secretive and it's important to act fast.

This is where I should have stopped. When someone needs you to act fast - it's often to get you to do something without thinking.

But I didn't...

Everyone in the chat gets excited about this.

I know some of them are real crypto experts and they jump on this opportunity.

I don't know much about crypto. But the 13 year old boy in me wants to belong. If they are excited. I want to be excited.

I also don't want to be the only one on this trip to Africa that didn't join in on the investment.

I find myself calling a crypto friend telling him about this. And he says that if Coinbase is launching a coin, and we can get early access to it, it's a sure win!

I get even more excited!

I'm also very distracted. I don't want to be in my head right now. I want to join my friends for this workshop they are doing. I'm finally at this event, I want to get the most of it.

I go to the workshop but I'm all in my head. I keep thinking about this investment and it frustrates me. I don't want to make business decisions now but I also don't want to miss out.

The workshop ends and I call my friend again. We are both excited and we don't want to miss out.

We say fuck it, lets go!

Within a few hours we have sent $500 000 in crypto to the wallet we were given.

The chat is going strong and people are even more excited.

@StakeEddie
wants in, but he is too slow.

When he asks if it can get solved after the deadline, he is told that it's unfortunately too late.

I read it and I can't believe a guy like that gets rejected.

The next day Jimmy writes again and says that there is a new chance to invest. However the price has now gone up, from $0.15 per coin to $0.30.

The maximum investment in this round is $750 000. I call my friend again.

I tell him about the billionaire that got rejected and how everyone else is buying in again.

I'm still att the event. I'm still super distracted by other things - and we end up falling for it again, sending another $750 000.

It's now Monday.

The retreat has ended and I'm heading home.

I still have a good feeling about all of this and I'm excited. I'm also exhausted after the weekend. Lots of experiences to process and far too little sleep.

On Tuesday, Jimmy writes one more time in the chat. Saying that this is the final chance to get it. The price is now $0.45 and everything up until now has been taken.

Once again I call my friend and we say let's go.

We are about to send the money.

But this time something makes me stop for a second.

Something in my belly says to look closer at the details.

For the first time in these 72 hours I actually stop to properly think.

And I see some details that are off. I know one of the
@adinross
is American, but his phone number is British, why is that?

For the first time since this chat started, I call Jimmy just to confirm everything.

And he says "What are you talking about?"

And that's a punch to my stomach.

I say "Please say that you are fucking kidding me?!" and I send him a print screen of the chat.

He looks at is and says: "Wow, I don't know what to say... please tell me you didn't send them any money..."

And I reply "1.25 million..."

The realisation sinks in. Oh fuck...

The first phone call from a few weeks ago was Jimmy. The real Jimmy. The fundraiser for clean water was Jimmy. The real Jimmy.

But the person reaching out from his team, wasn't from his team. It was a scammer.

The Jimmy in the chat, wasn't Jimmy. It was a scammer.

It was all very skilfully orchestrated.

All the people in the chat were fake. All the banter was fake. The trip to Africa was fake.

I feel the shame inside of me. The regret. The sadness. The anger.

I've been fooled.

I so deeply wanted to belong in this group that I acted way out of character. I trusted "Jimmy" and I followed the peer pressure of the "billionaires" and "super stars".

I broke so many of my own principles of how to make decisions.

But at least there is a silver lining...

I've been scammed before. The first time, I was scammed for about $3000 when I was 20.

A fortune to me back then.

That time I felt so ashamed that I didn't tell anyone about it for many years.

The shame kept haunting me.

This time, the first thing I did was to tell my wife.

Later I wrote to tell my parents and my brother.

Then a group chat with many of my closest friends.

I've gotten so much support.

My brother wrote me a message that moved me to tears. I've read it over and over. (I'm adding it below if you want to read it)

I've also cried. I've screamed. I've punched.

Then done it all over again.

I'm sharing this story partly to integrate it more.

Change the emotional experience from shame and anger - to -  something else.

I'm not sure yet what that is.

But pretty much every feeling is better than shame.

I already feel a lot less shame...

-

The next time you fuck up. Think of this story.

Remember that we all fuck up sometimes.

-

The next time you feel shame. Think of this story.

Remember that shame can only live in the shadows. Tell people about your shame, and I promise that the feeling will change.

-

On a final note.

Even after this has happened. I'm still very proud to be a part of Team Water.

I still believe Jimmy and Mark are amazing! I struggle to find words to describe the positive impact they have on the world.

Thanks you for reading <3





钦佩依旧不减

尽管被骗，Bergman 坚持认为对 Donaldson 和 Rober——真正的 Team Water 支持者——的尊敬没有改变。对他而言，这笔百万美元的捐款是真实的，依然具有意义，即便之后被骗局所掩盖。

他向粉丝表示，这段经历不仅仅是一次经济损失，更是一次公开的学习体验。“我希望我的故事能有所价值，”他强调，并补充道，如果分享自己的错误能让哪怕一个人避免点击诈骗链接或将钱汇错账户，那么这种公开就达到了意义。

随着骗局日趋复杂，Bergman 的态度提醒人们一个重要事实：成为受害者并不意味着愚蠢，而是人性使然。他的故事之所以不同，是因为他愿意将私人尴尬转化为关于透明度的广泛教训。

顶顶更健康