Sandra Bullock issues rare statement about family’s safety amid social media scams
Sandra Bullock has released an urgent statement out of concern for her family’s well-being after a string of social media scammers impersonated her sister.
“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,” the 60-year-old said on Monday (February 3).
“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 added in the statement to People magazine.
Bullock spoke to the outlet just one day after her younger sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, took to her Instagram to expose several fake accounts under her name on Facebook.
Next to a video of her scrolling through the various “imposter accounts,” the 54-year-old wrote: “Another day, the same lack of safety and response from @meta @metaforbusiness @zuck.
“I’m just posting a few FB imposter accounts, all of which I’ve reported both on this app and to a live human at @meta. Surprise! They are all still up,” she continued.
“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.”
Bullock-Prado went on to claim: “These accounts are run by crime rings. They also run fake groups where a fake me posts ‘official statements.’ Not me.
“I’m a grown assed middle aged woman with a life and I don’t troll around at 54 DMing people. These crime rings and scams are well known by the company and the world.”
The pastry chef then added a link to a recent story about a French woman being scammed by a fake AI Brad Pitt account pretending he needed her to help pay for cancer treatment. The 53-year-old woman wound up losing over $800,000.
“The fact that I’m put in danger, as is my livelihood, doesn’t mean a damn thing. If you see a fake account, are friended or messaged by one, report and block,” Bullock-Prado continued. “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.”
During the interview, she admitted she’d been exchanging messages with the scam account for about a year and a half, during which time she’d fallen in love.
A few days after the interview aired, Pitt, 61, issued a statement saying: “It’s awful that scammers take advantage of the strong bond between fans and celebrities.
“This is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online messages, especially from actors who are not present on social networks.”
