“Any accounts pretending to be me or anyone associated with me are fake accounts and have been created for financial gain or to exploit,” the actress says
Sandra Bullock is speaking out to warn fans about social media scammers pretending to be her.
In a statement to PEOPLE on Monday, Feb. 3, the Oscar winner says, “My family’s safety, as well as the innocent people being taken advantage of, is my deep concern, and there will be a time when I will comment more, but for now our focus is helping law enforcement handle this matter.”
“Please be aware that I do not participate in any form of social media. Any accounts pretending to be me or anyone associated with me are fake accounts and have been created for financial gain or to exploit people around me,” adds Bullock, 60.
The star’s statement comes after her younger sister Gesine Bullock-Prado, shared a message on Sunday, Feb. 2, in which she revealed that many people were pretending to be her on Facebook.
“I spend multiple times a day reporting fakes, dealing with weird & scary emails to my BUSINESS and HOME from men who believe that, through one of these many fake ‘me’s, they have a relationship with my sister through private messages and off app sites and have been giving (sometimes) THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS to an incredibly famous and successful grown assed woman,” wrote Gesine, 54, sharing screenshots of the faux accounts.
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Gesine said the post includes only “a few FB imposter accounts, all of which I’ve reported both on this app and to a live human” at Meta, adding, “Surprise! They are all still up!”
“When I report, i also report to a security service that gives the account addresses directly to a Meta employee,” she went on, alleging that “these accounts are run by crime rings” that “also run fake groups where a fake me posts ‘official statements.’ Not me. This is my only account and y’all know it’s about baking, cooking, animals, and gardening. I’m a grown assed middle aged woman with a life and I don’t troll around at 54 DMing people.”
“If you see a fake account, are friended or messaged by one, report and block,” she advised her followers. “The only reason I stay on FB is to monitor this for my own knowledge so I am aware of the danger coming at me (and yes, because of these scams, I’ve had to involve local law enforcement and they’ve been outstanding).”
“Strangely, Insta handles these things and even informs me when someone creates an account that may be an imposter. But FB? Same company with same tech? Can’t be bothered,” Gesine concluded.
A Meta spokesperson tells PEOPLE in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 4, “People who impersonate others on Facebook and Instagram violate our policies, and we remove this content when it’s found — like we are doing in this case.”
“We continue to invest in technology to improve our detection and enforcement against scams and work with law enforcement to prosecute scammers.”
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Gesine also included a reference to a recent incident in which a French woman was swindled out of over $800,000 by scammers posing as Brad Pitt, who made her believe she was dating him and that he needed help paying for medical care.
“At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous,” the woman, identified only as Anne, told French outlets AFP, according to BFM TV. “But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”
She first sent nearly €10,000 when the fake account said it needed her to pay customs tariffs so she could receive gifts he claimed to have sent her, according to the reported interview with the woman. BFM TV also reported Anne was sent A.I.-generated images of Pitt’s face over men in hospital beds.
“There are so few men who write you this kind of thing,” Anne reportedly said. “I liked the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, it was always very well done.”
Source people.com
