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Man ‘scammed’ R820 362 while looking for love

Finding “the one” in the digital age is as perilous as walking down a dark ally at midnight with a wallet full of notes.

The difference is the thief has one hand squeezing your heart and the other lifting your wallet. 

The trial of alleged online scamster Nigerian Muyiwa Obafeny, 35, was heard in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court today.

Obafeny is said to have scammed Kuo-Sen Liu,by pretending to be a New Zealand born woman, currently living in Durban by the name of Joy Dlodlo with an ailing mother.

Obafeny allegedly conned Liu out of R820 362. Obafeny was arrested and charged with nine counts of fraud and one of conspiracy to commit fraud. He has pleaded not guilty.

Lui started talking to “Joy” last year on online dating website www.zoosk.com.

Lui told the court that he started the friendship with the hopes of it turning into a romantic fling.

Liu is not the only person who has fallen for this scam. 

Internet scammers are a danger of the internet and it seems they are here to stay. 

It seems that most of these cyber criminals are Africans, mainly from Nigeria and Ghana, India, China and the USA also have a large number of internet scammers. 

Here are some pointers to help avoid romantic scams online.

Pay attention:  Check the use of language is their English poor, yet they said they come from a country that has English as the first language? Also check the answers to the questions you ask. Are the answers generic? 

Look at the picture: Look at the picture the person sent you or is using as a profile.  Does it correspond with the age the person gave you? They told you hey are 40 but their picture looks like a 25 year old person?

Also you can do a Google image search on the picture. If you are using Google chrome you can right click on the picture and choose the search Google for this picture option. 

Verify the person: Go online and search for their name. In this day and age, a twitter, Facebook, Linked in profile or some kind of account will pop up. Then you can verify whether the person you are talking to is real.

Money: If at any point the person asks for money, stop right there. Even if hey promise to pay you back and it’s for a sick relative or business opportunity. Do not even ask why the person needs the money. 

Personal data:  Keep things as superficial as possible. Keep your personal data to yourself. The more you reveal about yourself the more leverage you give the scammer. They can later use the intimate details you send them against you.

Early signs of a scam: If you sense something is a scam or you see signs stop all communications and report that account. Block the persons’ email, smses, or phone calls.

Always be safe online.

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