Woman conned out of R4200 by online ‘friend’

THE Komani police are investigating a case of online fraud after a woman was allegedly conned out of R4200 by a man she met on a dating site.

The 32-year-old woman, who declined to be named for fear of victimisation, said she met the man, who goes by the name Tony Scott, from England, online in December.

“Earlier this month he told me he wanted to visit the country and asked me to book accommodation and a vehicle. I said I would get quotes so he could pay electronically.

“He told me he worked for an oil rig company and would not be able to make payments and that he only had a cash deposit box and log-in details for a bank, but could not make an EFT payment from that account.

“He said he would send me the money via a courier company in a box with a laptop and other things to thank me for having helped him with the arrangements.

“He told me to track the parcel and the next day I saw that it had arrived at OR Tambo international airport. An hour later I received a message telling me the parcel would be cleared after I make a R4200 payment.

“I contacted the courier company to ask why I had to pay to collect the parcel. I was told that they could not get hold of Scott and the parcel would be confiscated if the money was not paid.”

The woman borrowed the money from her aunt and deposited it into a bank account held by a Jurie Earl Delano. She contacted the courier company again via e-mail and was told it was illegal to send money from one county to another and therefore she would have to pay for a diplomatic tag which amounted to R12800.

She was sent an account number held by a Tsepiso Matlawe but became suspicious because there were too many people involved and she reported it to the police.

SAPS spokeswoman Captain Namhla Mdleleni said a case of fraud had been opened and police were investigating.

The Eastern Cape was plagued by cases of online fraud and people needed to be vigilant when chatting to strangers and not give out their personal details.

“Late last year a woman from Whittlesea was defrauded of R430 000 of her pension money by her foreign lover in the hope that it would be doubled. People need to use credible ways of investing their money and not trust people they hardly know.”