The curse of the blessing scam

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Female con artists are exploiting superstition and family love to swindle women with Chinese heritage living in the west. The blessing scam is an elaborate piece of criminal street theatre which over the last few months has claimed victims across North America and the UK. It begins with an apparently random meeting with a stranger in the street, and very quickly escalates from there. Victims are tricked out of their money and possessions, after being terrified into believing that a relative’s life is threatened by evil spirits. And they’re left wondering: how did that happen? Are the criminals just master manipulators, or could something even more sinister be involved? Now a social media activist is fighting back and is trying to put the crooks out of business. Presenter: Elaine Chong Producers: Ed Main and Marta Pausilli Additional reporting: Austin Landis Editor: Flora Carmichael