Actress Sandra Bullock is the latest celebrity to speak out against rising social media scams that hide behind famous Hollywood faces to target innocent fans.
In a statement to People magazine on Feb. 3, the 60-year-old warned of online scammers impersonating her and members of her family through fraudulent social media accounts.
“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,” Bullock told People.
The “Miss Congeniality” star reaffirmed she does not have any accounts registered with social media sites and urged fans to be extremely cautious of anyone claiming to be her or a loved one.
“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,” she said.
Bullock-Prado went on to call out Meta—parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—as well as founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for lack of safety and response. She has taken matters into her own hands, she said.
“When I report, I also report to a security service that gives the account addresses directly to a Meta employee. These accounts are run by crime rings. They also run fake groups where a fake me posts ‘official statements.’ Not me. This is my only account. ... These crime rings and scams are well known by the company and the world,” she said.
Bullock-Prado urged her followers to block and report any suspicious accounts or solicitation, noting the only reason she continues to be active on Facebook is to closely monitor the situation and be aware of any potential threat or danger to herself and her family.
“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,” she said.
Johnny Depp, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt, Dolly Parton, and Tom Hanks are just some of the celebrities whose identities are being used for online imposter scams, and with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the schemes are becoming more elaborate.
“Today, AI can create the illusion of my face and voice. Scammers may look and sound just like the real me. But neither I, nor my team, will ask you for money or your personal information,” Depp said at the time.
A majority of the victims were lured through Facebook and other chat-based platforms. The elderly are frequent targets of these types of scams.
