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By Guest Blogger.

Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

For several years, con artists have been peddling the Iraqi Dinar scam – the myth of a massive revaluation of the Iraqi dinar, but that may be about to change.

Using a range of convoluted arguments, these people push the idea that the dinar will increase to 1,000 times, or even 3,000 times, its current value; they or their associates then profit by selling the currency at a fat profit to people who desperately want to believe that they have found a pot of gold.

In a particularly cruel twist, they often target people who are in financial difficulty, and string them along with the fear that they wouldn't want to miss out on this once-in-a-history-of-the-world opportunity.

Self-reinforcing online communities have been created, where the unwitting victims can feel that they are finally part of an elite group destined to prosper, just as long as they continue to keep the faith.

Emotional commitment, and a quasi-religious zeal, all play a role: An April Fool article spelling out the utter absurdity of the Iraqi Dinar scam get-rich-quick scheme was met with widespread anger and hostility in dinar chatrooms.

Anecdotal evidence, however, suggests that even the most diehard "dinarians" are finally starting to accept reality, and that by the end of 2015 this scam may have been consigned to history. Sadly, this will be too late for the many who have been cheated of their savings, their time, and their hope.

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(Dinar image via Shutterstock)

We are proud to announce that in our newsletter this week the top four articles are all from our dedicated panel of bloggers:

• Our Expert Blogger Mark DeWeaver has written two very insightful artices on the Iraqi banking system;
• Expert Blogger Madeleine White has written on new initiatives to educate Iraqi youth; and,
• Guest blogger Layth Mahdi has written on the failure of politicians to address the issues of poverty and unemployment.

On our Expert Blogger section (to the right of the home page) you can also find recent contributions from Robert Tollast, Ahmed Mousa Jiyad, Michael Carr, and John Schnittker.

As always, you can count on Iraq Business News to give you the inside track!

(Flag image via Shutterstock)