NORTHERN Ireland businesswoman Shirley Palmer will feature tonight in the first episode of new television series 'Secrets of the Scammers' which looks at how fraudsters are conning people out of millions of pounds.
A life and business coach originally from Glenarm, she fell victim to online scammers in April after clicking on an innocuous looking YouTube link on Facebook.
The files on her computer were immediately encrypted and held by Ransomware software, with those behind the scam demanding £350 in Bitcoin before they would be released.
Horrified at the prospect of losing not only valuable business files, but also precious family photos, the CEO of Palmer International was left unable to sleep with the stress and felt her life had been 'violated'.
"At that time, I was also putting the finishing touches to my first book, '12 Words' which was also stored on the computer," she said.
"If I had lost those files, not only would I have lost my book, but also years of work would have disappeared, as somehow the hackers were able to encrypt files stored on my online cloud storage system. It was honestly one of the most stressful times of my life."
The businesswoman, now based in Los Angeles, was forced to pay £350 to her blackmailers with digital currency Bitcoin before the files were restored.
"The ordeal with scammers has been eye-opening," she added.
"It is so scary to think that at any second someone could fall victim to this sort of scam online, as fraudulent and genuine links can be hard to decipher.
"I was more taken aback at the thought of losing my precious family photos. I’m originally from Glenarm in Co Antrim and now live and work between London and Los Angeles, so my photos are dear to me, especially when I’m feeling homesick or missing my family."
In the series writer and presenter Alexis Conran meets a number of victims of financial fraud and also speaks to members of the North East Regional Special Operations Unit and the Eastbourne Trading Standards Scam Hub.
The first episode goes out tonight on Channel 5 at 7pm.
