A single mum has been left heartbroken after after cruel cyber scammers fleeced her out of her life savings.
Mutmainnah Abubakar lost £5k in an online employment scam in March after responding to what she thought was a legitimate job advert.
The 33-year-old, from Edinburgh, was looking for a work from home opportunity after she was forced to give up her job at Burton’s Biscuit Factory in Sighthill when her health deteriorated due to chronic illness.
The mum-of-two, originally from Nigeria, has Addinson’s disease – a rare endocrine disorder leading to debilitating fatigue, muscle weakness, and low blood pressure.
The manipulative scammers preyed on Mutmainnah’s vulnerability, claiming to offer her online work at website UpWork.
A website for UpWork says the site helps to connect jobseekers and employers to “bring projects to life”.
However, the website denies any involvement and says scammers have been using its business name.
Mutmainnah said that at first, the job only involved liking TikTok videos in return for a fee.
But after gaining her trust, the crooks went on to instruct her to buy cryptocurrency with a promise of reimbursements that never came.
Speaking to the Record, Mutmainnah said: “I had applied for dozens of jobs online so I wasn’t surprised to get a call about a position and when I did, I said yes straight away.
“They explained they would send a TikTok video every hour of the day from 9am till 6pm for me to like, then I had to send them proof of that, then I would receive payment.
“But as time went on, I was asked to buy cryptocurrency and send it to organisations before I was reimbursed.
“This started with me spending sums of £100 and – the first couple of times – I got my money back, so I trusted them.
“It quickly spiralled to more and more money and suddenly I had spent £5000 across three days.
“But little did I know I would never get to see my money again.
“They kept asking for more and more without paying me back, thenI stated to realise something wasn’t right.”
In a series of messages shared with the Record Mutmainnah is seen begging her fake employers to be paid back as a person responding via Whatsapp informs her she does not “meet the system review requirements”.
She is instructed to send more money to fulfill the criteria as the messages go on to state this is for the “safety” of her funds.
The ordeal left her hospitalised as stress flared up her Addinson’s disease.
She continued: “I fainted due to the stress and I couldn’t eat anything and my GP sent me hospital. But even when I told them that, even when I lay crying in my hospital bed, they still hounded me for money and refused to pay me back.
Mutmainnah left Nigeria for Edinburgh last year in search of a better life for her two young daughters Korede, six and Desire, eight.
Her little girls are still currently living with her sick mum in the country until she can afford to arrange a safe home for them in the capital and sort out their visas.
The desperate mum is now terrified she will never be able to afford to be reunited with her girls andwatch them grown up.
She added: “Where do I go from here? I don’t know what I can do now or how am I going to get my children to the safe home they deserve.
“I need to help my daughters and my mum but right now, I can’t even tell my family what has happened because I am so ashamed.
“I keep praying it is just a nightmare and I will wake up, because I just don’t know how I can go on.”
A fundraiser has been set up to support the Mutmainnah through her difficult time.
You can donate to it and find out more here.
A spokesperson for Upwork said: “Upwork will never ask anyone to pay to apply for a job, be hired, or onboard as an employee or contractor.
“Legitimate corporate opportunities are listed at www.upwork.com/careers, and our recruiters only reach out via a verified Upwork email or LinkedIn.
“Unfortunately, scams like this are part of a broader industry-wide issue targeting jobseekers, and we advise people to be cautious when approached through unofficial channels.”