While some criminals may use weapons and violence to steal your money, there are others who use scams. Recently four Woman became victims to one of these scammers after he contacted them online. Here are all the details as well as what we can learn from this case.
The four Woman, all from KwaZulu-Natal, was contacted by the Man separately on social media site Facebook. He told them that his name was Ravi Kumar and that he was an airline pilot in Los Angeles.
After a few weeks of communicating with the victims online, the Man asked for their home addresses so he could send them gifts. He than sent them images of this gift, which was a box that he claimed contained fifteen thousand dollars, before professing his love to them and promising to come to South Africa and Marry them.
Later the man requested five thousand rand from them daily on each occasion. Claiming that the box which held the gifts and cash was held at customs, his bank cards had been lost or he was stuck at the airport.
This situation should serve as a lesson to South Africans who spend time on social media. I urge people to be careful of who they contact and who contacts them online, as many scammers hide behind false identities and fake accounts.
One important thing that should be noted is the amount of time this scammer spent talking to the Woman before asking them for money. He was willing to spend weeks to establish a relationship with them, which shows how dedicated he was to stealing their money.
This should teach South Africans that online scammers should not be underestimated. Please educate yourself and your family members on the types of tricks that criminals use online, so that they do not become victims to them.