The scam behind wrong number and romance scams – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Skip to main content
The homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.
The homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.
Posted
W
External Link
Wes Davis
The scam behind wrong number and romance scams.

The New York Times published an investigative piece on the slave labor behind some of those innocuous-seeming crypto scam texts and calls.

The story focuses on one person who escaped from a compound where he was where he was forced to carry out intricate online romance scams involving crypto. The money earned from these scams is then laundered through other countries, including the US.

A word of warning: This story has descriptions of torture and captivity.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
Comments
Loading comments
Getting the conversation ready...

Most Popular

Most Popular
  1. Alex Jones has uncovered another massive conspiracy
  2. 360-degree cameras have a new superpower
  3. You’re about to feel the AI money squeeze
  4. Musk vs. Altman is here, and it’s going to get messy
  5. THE PEOPLE DO NOT YEARN FOR AUTOMATION
    Video

More in News

BMW is one step closer to selling you a color-changing carBMW is one step closer to selling you a color-changing car
The RAM shortage could get even worse if Samsung labor protests cut productionThe RAM shortage could get even worse if Samsung labor protests cut production
360-degree cameras have a new superpower360-degree cameras have a new superpower
Tesla’s Cybercab goes into production — so why is Musk tapping the brakes?Tesla’s Cybercab goes into production — so why is Musk tapping the brakes?
Instagram has launched another Snapchat cloneInstagram has launched another Snapchat clone
China’s DeepSeek previews new AI model a year after jolting US rivals China’s DeepSeek previews new AI model a year after jolting US rivals 

Top Stories