Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg Lottery Scam Exposed

Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg Lottery Scam

We’ve heard and read a lot about common Facebook Lottery Scams that are doing the rounds, and it’s clear something needs to be done about this as more people are becoming hoodwinked into giving large sums of money away.

Of late, a newer scam has crept into consciousness and it involves the creator of the social media platform himself. So, what is the latest news on Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook Lottery Scam and how can you avoid it? Read on to find out more.

Is Jackpocket legit? Find out in this Jackpocket review

Victim of the Zuckerberg Lottery Scam, Gary Bernhardt’s Story

When Gary Bernhardt’s phone chimed one night, it was a notification to say he’d won $750,000 in the Facebook lottery. Not only that, the message had come from Mark Zuckerberg himself. Staring in disbelief at his phone, Mr. Bernhardt didn’t know what to do.

“I got all excited. Wouldn’t you?” he said. The sixty-seven-year-old man is a retired forklift driver and Army veteran in Ham Lake, Minnesota.

During the course of the evening, he exchanged numerous messages with the person on the other end of the phone, who he’d assumed was the man himself. He was told that in order to claim his huge win, he’d have to send on $200 in iTunes gift cards.

A short time later, he bought the gift cards at a gas station, sending the redemption codes to the account that claimed to be Mark Zuckerberg. Thinking he was going to receive his money, he waited, but the requests for money didn’t stop.

By the following January, Bernhardt had sent an additional $1,310 in cash which equates to a third of his Social Security checks over three months.

He Eventually Realized It Was a Scam

After some time, he realized that he’d been conned out of a lot of money and he wouldn’t ever see his prize.

Unfortunately, Mr. Bernhardt is just another victim of a scam that’s been sweeping both Facebook and Instagram, and one that seems very appealing to unwitting members of the public.

It comes at a time when Zuckerberg says he’s going to try and make the effort to clean up both social media sites, but it has so far done little to rid them of these fake accounts that see con artists masquerading as him and his chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, to swindle Facebook users out of thousands of dollars.

Many Impostor Accounts Exist

In total, after an investigation by the New York Times, there were over two hundred impostor accounts impersonating Zuckerberg and Sandberg. Of these, fifty were found to be lottery scams, one of which had targeted Mr. Bernhardt. Some of these accounts go as far back as 2010.

It was only after the New York Times informed Facebook what it had found, that all the accounts were banned.

Other People Have Been Conned

Pete Voss, a spokesman for Facebook said, “Thank you so much for reporting this,” adding that “It’s not easy,” to spot all these fake accounts: “We want to get better.” he added.

Whilst Facebook claims that it requires people to use their authentic names and identity, the company has estimated that perhaps three percent of its users, which could be up to sixty million accounts, is fake. Some of those accounts are disguised as ordinary people, some pretend to be celebrities.

“Fake accounts, overall, are a big issue, because that’s how a lot of the other issues that we see around fake news and foreign election interference are happening as well,” Mr. Zuckerberg told lawmakers in Congress. He claims to be hiring more staff to tackle this, but so far it has done little to abate these scams.

Interviews with six recent victims and online conversations with nine fake accounts showed that the Facebook lottery deception is alive and well. In particular, con artists tend to prey on older, less educated people, or those that live on very low incomes.

Impostor Accounts Get Thousands of Followers

These impostor accounts end up with hundreds or even thousands of followers. They’re supported by a group of other fake accounts, all with generic names. These purport to be ‘Facebook Claim Agents’.

The con artists find victims who look, from their profiles, to be vulnerable. The fake accounts share information between themselves and pounce on people time and again. A lot of the fake accounts can be traced to Nigeria and Ghana.

How the Zuckerberg Lottery Scam Works

You’ll get a pitched message that starts with “Hello. How are you doing?” on Facebook or Instagram.

This account will then go on to inform you you’ve won a huge prize on the Facebook Lottery.

In one instance, in several messages between a Times investigator and a fake Sheryl Sandberg account on Instagram last week, the impostor offered $950,000 and a new car via the “Facebook splash promotion 2018.”

When asked for proof the account was Ms. Sandberg, the scammer sent a Photoshopped identification. “I want you to know that this Promo is 100% Real and Legitimate and the Government are aware of this Promo you don’t have to be skeptical all you just have to do is to follow all instruction given to you okay,”

Just a few days later, the same account said it now needed a $100 iTunes gift card to process and activate the winning ATM card. iTunes cards are used because they can be redeemed for a lot of money on the black market.

Victims such as fifty-year-old Donna Keithley a mom to four children in Martinsburg have also been scammed. Two years ago, she was contacted by someone called Linda Ritchey “on behalf of the Facebook C.E.O Mark Zuckerberg” to pass on word of her good fortune: $650,000 in lottery winnings. Ms. Keithley wired $350 the next day.

The scam played out over a month and the con artists played on Keithley’s faith to get at her.
“Are you a good Christian with god fears?” the Linda Ritchey account continued. “Can you trust me and also have to believe in me?”

She also received a call from a Zuckerberg impostor who assured her the lottery was real. She even heard from a Facebook account masquerading as Eileen M. Decker, the former United States attorney in Los Angeles, asking for $205 to process her winnings.

The scammer then made Keithley open new credit cards and bank accounts, and even get a loan using her husband’s car as collateral. Midway through the month, she said she had a minor stroke from the stress.

By April 2016 she had paid the scammer $5,306.43, much of it in money transfers to the name Ben Amos in Lagos, Nigeria. The ordeal was so costly that the family’s telephone service was shut off. They also had to go to a food bank.

Victims Can Often Feel Ashamed

Once they realize they have been scammed, victims can feel too ashamed to come forward or to know what to do next.

Gary Bernhardt, the retired forklift driver, said he didn’t know how to report the scammers to Facebook.

Donna Keithley said she had called a number for Facebook she had found online, though she was not sure the number was authentic. She also reported the scam to local police, who said they couldn’t help, and the Pennsylvania attorney general. They claim not to have heard from her, but now the case has come to light in the media have said they will investigate further.

Is Facebook Too Slow to Act?

Many people claim to have reported scams to Facebook but have said the company has been way too slow to act.

Fifty-five-year-old Kathryn Schwartz from New Jersey said she has been in credit-card debt since she lost $1,742 trying to claim bogus Facebook lottery winnings in 2016.

Since then she says she has been pestered by scammers and has said she now reports all these regularly.

Recently she has been contacted by someone called Mary Williams, who said she could help her claim winnings… A review of the account showed that in March it had renamed itself, purporting to be a Boise, Idaho, native who works at Facebook. Years of posts before that depicted a man in Nigeria.

When she flagged this up on Facebook, the con artist left a comment on her post to say: “You think you are smart but you are not. If you were smart why were you scammed.” The emojis tacked at the end of the message were crying with laughter.

Gary Bernhardt said that since he wired his last payment to the Zuckerberg faker in January, he has heard from two other Mark Zuckerbergs, one Sheryl Sandberg, and other accounts promising him winnings in return for more cash.

However, he says he is wiser now even though he was really taken in by the first account: “I thought we were getting real close. He started calling me Mr. Gary and I started calling him Mr. Mark. They sucked me in because they knew my dreams,” he said, after revealing to them he had grown up in a foster home and always wanted a house of his own, by a lake.

These stories as timely, and proof if it was ever needed, that social media platform Facebook really needs to act now to sort itself out before anyone else is conned out of their hard-earned money.

  1. I believe Facebook is responsible for this scam to pay back everyone and plus some for the pain

    00
  2. Ya hi, n I just blocked a Scammed on WhatsApp. Seems fake accounts are everywhere nowadays. At first, I believed him n when I said I got no money until Dec 14th his story changed n that’s when I clued in n realized he was a scam.

    00
  3. join the club I just get this via WhatsApp and hangouts truck and winning by the same try block but they changing it contact he’s a lot mate it seems president USA and FedEx agent keep contacting it not only Facebook and our government to ignore it I twice report to Scamwatch but slack do stuff also was fake site alais skkoka full scmamming escort itune neosurf steam card all been used

    00
  4. Dose Mark Zuckerberg ask for gift cards saying I won on Facebook and I got a FBI special agent saying I’m going to get arrested this is on what’s app

    00
    • Is he going to be arrested for stealing from people? or not. or someone else wants to drive to him and see if he will be able to pay for it One Way or The ether. he will get hurt really bad.

      00
  5. Hi, I know someone that is being scammed and the Man that is doing it works for Mark Zuckerbergs Lottery. He is in On Canada now the guy has paid the fee to deliver and he had to be kept clear of anyone for a few days. Well this Man was paid for a delivery he said will be done now he wants more money on top of what he was already paid. He said he is a God Child he does not lie. Well he said he was going to Deliver now he wants more money on top of what he was paid already well he was told if your God’s Child why are you lying. He said I need more money to finish the Delivery. Well, the MAN that was to get the winnings emailed Mr. Zuckerberg and he said to pay him more and he will deliver. To Me, the CEO of Facebook Lottery should be responsible to pay back what this Lottery is Doing Scamming and Fraud Charges.

    00
    • Hello, I been scammed out of 15,000 $20 that I do not have. I feel Facebook should be responsible for all this because they are aware of everything that’s going on. I got a phone call from Mark Zuckerberg telling me that he would reimburse me and pay back my bank. He even sent me a letter stating letter of intent. I’m still waiting for my refund. All this leads up to his identity theft bank fraud you name it and I feel Facebook is fully responsible because they are aware of it it’s on their site they see it every day they’re fat checkers and everybody else and yet nothing happens Facebook continues to let this scam go which makes them responsible for all of it I think we all should band together and Sue Facebook as one again they took my identity they’ve been messing with me since June they committed fraud against my identity they stole my Dan Unger page they stole my two fan pages. I reported to Facebook about everything I just said and they said no violations were committed which also tells me Facebook is a big part of this. So does anybody have any ideas do you have any attorneys let’s all get together and Sue Facebook as one let’s make our complaint heard. Cuz all I’m seeing here is a lot of people getting scammed like myself and it’s just a bunch of talk I think we all need the band together everyone on this page. Who’s with me on this cuz I need help and I know you need help. What I don’t like this is a public Foreman even this cameras can read what we’re saying. Please leave your comment below. Or if you’re really serious about joining together and finding the attorney to do a class action lawsuit against Facebook for the lottery wins free truck and all damages. I think again we should all band together. I’m seeking an attorney right now so if there’s any attorneys out there I want you to contact me also it must be pro bono I will not give up one dime which I do not have to start this lawsuit.

      00
  6. I received an email today from the Email address mrsheidimendozaa44(at)gmail.com advising me that I won some money from Mr Mark Z. I google Mark Z Lottery and found out that this lottery is a scam.

    Reply to: mailfacebookdisbursement446(at)gmail.com
    I knew it was a scam, but Mike I will take a late Birthday gift.
    Ms Williams

    00
  7. I think it is a shame and my husband 65 is currently getting scammed as we speak. He has and continues to believe in these scams as of 12/2020. He not only believes it is Mark Zuckerberg but he is coming in person to delivery him CASH money and has paid A LOT of so called TAXES on his winning to Mark Zuckerberg. The calls are endless and other African Scammers call him constantly daily dealing in everything from, fake checks in which he has had numerous bank accounts closed as a result of this, to coin bits. His GREED EXCEEDS HIS NEEDS and he always ends up with nothing but another scammer taking up where the other one left off. My husband is the and WORLDS BIGGEST SUCKER and he will not stop until he dies.

    00
  8. I’m going through this right now, I haven’t paid any money but they just don’t give up, can anyone help

    00
  9. I was scammed by fake Mark, for 3,425.00 dollars then I was scammed by Erskine Bowles for 2,320 people wake your not really careful this could happen to you

    00
  10. I too got a Hello from a Mary Mizwell claiming to work for Facebook asking me if received my lottery winnings so I played along and told her no.she went as far as sending me a copy of a fake ck from bank of America then ask if I could travel to California and pick it up. I told her no then she gave me some number to a Mr Ben.from Fed X to text my address and phone# this is the number she gave me 1-864-660-3536. I also received a text from this # 1-210-741-4963 claiming to be Mark Zuckerberg. Well.”Mr Ben asked me how I wanted my package delivered with options within 12hrs =300+(24hrs=200+ and(48hrs=100+) I chose the 48hrs. Then he said my package would be delivered for sure in 48 his as soon as I send my payment. well I was skeptical from beginning and when they asked me to pay money and my info I knew for sure.they just wanted my account info which I will not give to anyone over the phone ever. I told them to keep it. because I can’t miss what I don’t have and will not give what I do. so I Messaged “Ms and told her this required more investigation she assured me homeland security already knew of my winnings. Yea’ Right’ so I blocked all involved in this scam.

    00
  11. I was very badly scammed by the so called Mark Zuckerberg. Over the past month, I have received a text message on my mobile number saying I had won 1 million dollars in the Facebook lotto. Course I fell for it. I was also in touch with a man called Mark Zuckerberg to pay 100 euro in iTunes gift cards to different departments at the IMF to the courier who would deliver me the winnings to me. He sent me picture via WhatsApp of an airplane taking off from some so called airport and telling me it would be arriving yesterday..but no. Never came. Altogether I must have spent about 500 euro of my disability money. That is all I have to live on.
    I am 44 and am not married. I am supporting my 2 parents who r both having cancer right now so I need every penny. I don’t work….
    Atkinson got back to me and said my money had reached the co. Where I live and that it was being held in some custom which is total bull. there are no customs here. Not where I live. They were asking for me 2 pay 1000 more. I then became very angry and began to cuss at him as he was sending me text. I went to the police and shows him all texts he had sent me. Atkinson and Zuckerberg are now being investigated. Facebook should be banned for good. F*&^% mark Zuckerberg and Atkinson. They r nothing but fraudsters and devious sick minded vile criminals. They will pay for what they have done. Mark my word. They will pay dearly

    00
  12. Good morning,

    A facebook friend of mine contacted me saying that she received a prize of R1m and that she saw my name on the list of winners and that I should contact this person, which I did. A lady claiming to be an employee of Facebook, going by the name of Helen Klopper and living in Cape Town South Africa, scammed me into believing that I won R670 000.00. I however had to pay R4700.00 in order to claim my prize. Delivery of my prize money was confirmed for this morning. When checking with her again this morning, she said that I need to pay a further R7000.00.

    After confronting her about the validity of all of this, she sent me a Facebook Winners Certificate as well as a letter from the Supreme Court, Washinton, confirming my winnings and that I must pay the R7000. I of course refused.

    Her email address is hd6237502 @ gmail.com
    The IP address of her email is 209.85.220.41
    Her cell nr is +27 73 356 6187

    I am going to file a complaint with our local police.

    00

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

You May Like: