For the past few months I've been investigating a particularly cruel crime. It's called

the Blessing scam and it plays on superstition and

exploits people's love for their families. Victims are tricked out of their

money and possessions and they're left wondering how did that happen I don't know why I did it I really

cannot tell you why like another elaborate scam I reported on for the last series of

BBC trending the targets are people in the Chinese diaspora.

Both the crooks and their victims are middle-aged and older women with Chinese heritage,

living in the West.

And while this crime isn't exactly new, in the past year there have been a wave of cases in the US, Canada and Britain.

Now a social media activist is fighting back.

From launching it, I started to get loads of different messages across the UK

about this incident happening to different people. It just went crazy.

Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.

I'm Elaine Chong from BBC Trending and this is the curse of the blessing scam.

In some ways the blessing scam is an elaborate piece of criminal street theatre.

There's a well-rehearsed script that's acted out for an audience of one, the unsuspecting victim, like Meghney.

I was on my way going to yoga, walking towards Harrow Road, that's where the yoga center

is.

At the traffic lights on Harrow Road, one lady just touched my arm and I jumped and then she spoke in Cantonese.

The Chinese woman who stopped Hmong-kneye on a West London street introduced herself as Miss Lee.

She was crying.

And she says, oh, do you know a Mr. Cole, he's a healer?

...