Marinela Iacob, 45, was hoping to boost her income and help support her two children, but instead lost thousands of pounds in a prolonged hoax scheme that lasted over a year. She said: “I thought I could have a different life and I could have a bit more money and not depend on anyone.
“I was so eager to be able to afford to live a better life. In my silliness, I believed them.
“Looking back, you do believe them because you have that wish, you’re so hoping that this is true.
“You don’t even look into anything else.”
The scam started in March 2020, when Marinela found a company online offering shares and other investment options.
The company had good reviews so Marinela decided to start with a small investment to see if it worked.
She sent over two payments of around £4,000, sending via Revolut – which is in no way related to the scam company.
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“Then I had all these emails explaining how it works and how long they’ve been on the market, and I believed them.”
At one point, the scammers wanted a £25,000 investment for a certain package.
The sophisticated fraudsters even set up different websites for the different areas that they were supposedly investing the money into.
When Marinela wanted to sell her shares, the fraudsters said that the payment would have to be a certain amount.
They also refused to pay the money directly into her bank account, instead requesting to pay it back via…
