Western Cape police have warned women to remain vigilant and not fall prey to scammers who want to enter their lives with the promise of love only to defraud them and steal their money.
The advice came after the arrest of a 42-year-old Nigerian man at Charing Crescent, Parklands, in Cape Town.
His arrest follows a report to the police by a Canadian woman who almost fell victim to a romance scam in 2022 when she met a man on social media who called himself Raymond Butler.
The suspect befriended her, and they started chatting on the internet and later privately.
Western Cape police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said the digital relationship grew and that the suspect convinced the complainant to invest R24-million in a project abroad.
“The investigating officer pursued the relevant information and ensured a breakthrough when he arrested the suspect,” said Swartbooi.
He said warning signs that could help women identify possible dating scammers are that they “look and sound very caring and responsible”.
“They always come up with business proposals, don’t want their pictures to be taken and don’t want to meet in public places.
“They hide their identification documents and they don’t introduce the partner to their families,” said Swartbooi.
They also want to own everything in a relationship, and never take their partners to their houses as they always come up with contradictory stories as to why that is not possible, he said.
Sinazo Coto, a 36-year-old woman, almost lost her money to a foreign man who advised her to quit work so that she could draw out her pension money.
“I was about to take all my money and invest it in his business but I was saved by a police officer who told me about women who have been scammed by foreign nationals who promised to double their money,” said Sinazo.
She said she hoped women would stop falling into this trap.
“Women have a problem with trusting so easily and we always want to be loved, something that causes us to miss the signs even when we are being fooled,” said Sinazo.
Another victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said women read about these stories in the media but failed to see when they were in a similar situation.
“Even after this article, there are women who will be scammed. I don’t know if it’s being stubborn. I don’t know what needs to be done for this to stop because [some] foreign nationals have been doing this for a long time,” she said.
Pictured above: Police.
Image source: File
