PayPal washes its hands of bitcoin scam

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/01/paypal-washes-its-hands-of-bitcoin-scam/



PayPal washes its hands of bitcoin scam
By Rupert Jones, The Guardian
Saturday, March 1, 2014 8:40 EST

Will Phillips is £5,300 out of pocket after falling victim to a very 21st-century financial scam involving hacked PayPal accounts and the digital currency bitcoin.

For the uninitiated, bitcoin is a “virtual currency” that, depending on who you believe, is going to change the world by turning e-commerce on its head, or end very messily like a modern-day version of the “tulip mania” that gripped the Netherlands in the 17th century.

In recent months it has become a magnet for speculators and, last autumn, 32-year-old Phillips, who freely admits he is a “a bit of a geek,” decided to grab a slice of the action.

At the start of 2013, one bitcoin was worth around £7. At the end of November the price hit £750 while on Wednesday this week it was around £350.