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** NEW: The scammers promising poison on Facebook **
For the past few weeks, I have been investigating a network of Facebook pages set up to scam people at risk of suicide. These con artists target their victims by pretending to sell them a highly toxic chemical. (THREAD)
For the past few weeks, I have been investigating a network of Facebook pages set up to scam people at risk of suicide. These con artists target their victims by pretending to sell them a highly toxic chemical. (THREAD)
It all started with a dodgy video I found on Facebook. The page that uploaded it claimed the pills it was selling were made of a deadly poison. It suggested customers could use this substance to take their own lives.
Posing as a client, I got in touch with the person who ran the page. He told me he’d be willing to sell me some pills for $185 and that they’d be shipped from Cameroon. I asked him whether the claims he’d made on Facebook were true:
He never tried to dissuade me or asked me if I had sought help for my problems. He didn’t ask me to think about the consequences my actions might have on my family/friends.
(BTW, if you are feeling distressed, there are organisations that can help
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">) https://bbc.in/2YAH4NN ">https://bbc.in/2YAH4NN&q...
(BTW, if you are feeling distressed, there are organisations that can help
I was disgusted, but I soon found out he was not alone. In fact, his page was just one of MORE THAN 60 I discovered claiming to sell this lethal chemical. Most of them openly described it as a tool for suicide.
I spoke to a number of cyber-crime experts for this investigation - and they all agree: these supposed dealers are actually scammers preying on vulnerable users.
. @lisa_sugiura noticed how unsophisticated these pages seemed to be: their posts were badly written; their images were actually old stock photos… And fake accounts had left ridiculous reviews like this one:
. @Jake_MooreUK explained to me how the fraud worked: by setting up pages entirely devoted to this substance, the scammers make them highly searchable on Facebook.
The victims contact the supposed sellers and make a deal. A payment is then made - often using cryptocurrency, which allows the seller to remain anonymous. The seller disappears, and the promised chemical is never delivered.
Don’t get me wrong: it’s a relief deadly poison isn’t being sent to vulnerable people. But the fact is: these scammers are exploiting people at their lowest ebb for profit. And sadly, @Jake_MooreUK says the victims are unlikely to report the fraud to the police.
I told @Facebook about more than 60 pages I found claiming to sell these deadly pills. All of them have since been removed. They also told me:
Problem is… Facebook’s actions don’t seem to have deterred the scammers. After the company took these pages down, it took less than a day before new ones popped up.
In case you’re wondering, I did eventually confront the supposed “dealer” who offered to sell me pills. At first, he simply hung up the phone on me. He then texted to say there was nothing illegal about his business.
There’s a lot more I could tell you about this investigation… So, just have a listen to this edition of @BBCTrending from the @bbcworldservice: https://bbc.in/2YC3cr8 ">https://bbc.in/2YC3cr8&q...
If you’d rather read this story (maybe podcasts aren’t your thing), there’s also an article you can read on the @BBCNews website: https://bbc.in/2NKa8wl ">https://bbc.in/2NKa8wl&q...
If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this thread: thank you so much. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙏" title="Folded hands" aria-label="Emoji: Folded hands">
Let me just remind you that if you - or someone you know - is having a particularly rough time, there are organisations that can help you wherever you are in the worldhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">
https://www.befrienders.org/ ">https://www.befrienders.org/">...
Let me just remind you that if you - or someone you know - is having a particularly rough time, there are organisations that can help you wherever you are in the world
https://www.befrienders.org/ ">https://www.befrienders.org/">...
