7 Months Inside an Online Scam Labor Camp
A man was abducted by a Chinese gang and forced to work in a scam operation. He gathered financial information, photos and videos and shared the material with The New York Times.
I saw a BBC documentary about a similar situation. People are being exploited on both sides of the phone line.
I know this is wildly off topic, but didn't you move from Beehaw to Tumblr?
I left beehaw because I was being targeted by a user using gaslighting and lies.
When I responded to this user (I will admit, too strongly), the mods removed my comments, but left his initial lies and gaslighting up, even though I had reported them (and even messaged one of the admins directly -- it was actually a beehaw admin's actions against my comments.) To be clear, I understood the removal of my comments, but I did not understand why the user's lies and rudeness against me still remained.
I mentioned tumblr because it was where the information I was sharing had initiated, and I encouraged people to take the discussion there, since a productive discussion was no longer possible here. I never said I was moving there myself.
I then removed the rest of my comments and posts on beehaw.
I was already on tumblr, so I didn't "move from" Beehaw to there. I was also already on this account, so nor did I move here -- I was already here all along, where I've had no similar problems.
Paywall
Saved me a click. Thanks!
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An amazing read. I can't imagine being in that situation. This is the sort of ordeal that movies should be made of.
It will be. This summer, watch Scamducted! Starring Liam Neeson, the 71-year-old that we keep casting into action roles for some insane reason!
That was extremely detailed. Makes me sad that everyone else is still there. Only the one guy was saved, and they still had to pay bribes higher than his initial ransom.
This is absurd. I don't understand how people can be so cruel. Though the "General + Dragon" succeeded in getting Mr. Lu out, it does feel like perhaps the ransom was just paid with a bit of negotiation. This is a very frustrating situation.
Great article, Mr. Lu is very strong.
