1 year ago
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It can start on a dating app, social media – or even a language learning app. A stranger starts a conversation that over weeks or even months blooms into an online friendship or more. At some point the chat turns to cryptocurrency. Well-known platforms or reputable virtual wallets are discussed and investments are made. By the time the victim realises they have been scammed, they have lost their savings.
The Observer journalist Shanti Das started investigating these so-called “pig butchering scams” with Niamh McIntyre of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. She tells Nosheen Iqbal how criminal gangs in China exploit trafficking victims to defraud people around the globe. And how the pair discovered that more than 150 fake UK firms were being used to allay victims’ suspicions.
How does it feel to lose thousands to scammers – and what can the UK government do to stop these scams flourishing?
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