A Twitch streamer is exposing coronavirus scams live

Enlarge / Kitboga getting ready to out some scammers on Twitch. (credit: Twitch)

Earlier this week, live on Twitch, the streamer Kitboga attempted to place a wholesale order for an essential oil that, the woman on the phone implied to him, cured COVID-19.

There is, of course, no cure for COVID-19, the disease that has infected hundreds of thousands of people internationally since January. If there were, it wouldn't consist of oregano oil, cinnamon, clove bud, and eucalyptus essential oils. Kitboga was on the phone with a scammer. Eleven thousand live viewers were watching him expose her.

Using a voice modulator, Kitboga assumed a persona called Barbara "Barbie" Kendal, explaining that he wanted to place a wholesale order for essential oils and distribute it to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Kitboga continued to press her for details about the product-How many people has it cured? Can I keep the cure on the countertop? Can I pour the cure into a hot bath after my bridge game?-which she readily answered, never correcting his terminology. The scammer, who said her name was Anne, took down the hospital's address.

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