conned

Scam victims in Southeast and East Asia alone were conned out of up to $37 billion in 2023, according to a UN report, which said global losses were likely "much larger".

The result is palpable: There’s no longer an electoral base in the West wiling to be conned out of additional trillions for climate change.

Romance fraud is when someone is conned into sending money to a criminal who convinces them they are in a genuine relationship.

"She's probably done me out of quite a bit of money - I feel angry and conned."

"I just feel like I've been conned," he says, adding "no-one on this planet would have signed" had they known the true extent of the contract.