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Gambling Philanthropist Scammed Out Of $1.25M: How It Happened

This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine

Sausalito, Calif. – Sep. 29, 2026

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The scam happened in a chat group with Youtube superstars MrBeast and Mark Rober, streamer giant Adin Ross, and billionaires Tobi Lütke and Ed Craven.

Erik Bergman, founder of Great.com, the world’s first casino affiliate that donates 100 percent of its profits to charity, felt both ashamed and stupid telling this story, but he showed exactly how he got manipulated, in a blog post on his site.

Bergman, who calls himself a gambling philanthropist, recently joined Cybercrime Magazine Podcast host Amanda Glassner to discuss his experience, what happened after, whether any of his funds were returned, and more.

The more people that hear this story, the harder it will be for scams like this to succeed, according to Bergman. Let’s hope so.

Listen to the Podcast episode



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