A Facebook page that exposes women who scam men after promising to visit them has become a hit.
The social media page and YouTube TV channel called Gal Pay Back My Money is not only exposing scammers but also forcing them to pay back the money to the men they have scammed. Since it was launched, it has had many success stories where men got their money back after being robbed in the name of love. Some of the victims meet the scammers on social media and the women promise to visit them if they paid for transport and other necessities.
The show was founded by Matodzi Makananisa to help victims. Its Facebook page, which was launched last month, boasts 75,000 followers.
The men who approach the show for assistance come from various provinces in SA. According to Makananisa, the type of women who are involved in the scam include students, young women and married women. Some of these women are employed while others are unemployed.
Speaking to Sowetan this week, Makananisa said he realised that many women were making a career out of scamming men.
“What happens is that a guy meets a girl and he likes her. The conversation moves from social media and dating apps to WhatsApp. They then wish to see each other. The lady asks for money for transport, money to do their hair and buy new dress because she wants to look good. We have a case where a guy spent almost R10,000 on a date that never happened. He paid R5,000 on a return flight ticket, R1,000 for hair, R1,000 for a dress, R500 for airtime and food.
“When we receive a complaint, we do our own verification to check its legitimacy. We ask for slips, voice notes, texts and proof of payment. When we are sure everything is legit, we expose the culprit. We tell the women exposed that scamming someone is a crime, and they can even go to jail. Because they are afraid to go to jail, they pay the money back ... fast.”
Makananisa believes the act of scamming men on its own contributes to gender-based violence (GBV) because some people react differently to it. He said exposing and confronting women was the only way to hold them accountable.
“If we are serious about ending GBV, we need to hold each other accountable. Women are playing a role in GBV and as much as we are afraid to talk about it, it is a fact.”
According to Makananisa, they have received thousands of complaints from various provinces, but North West and Gauteng lead the pack.
“What we did was call on men to write in, we received hundreds of requests to help. We then realised we would not be able to shoot all these cases for TV episodes. We have since decided that for all the men who were robbed for between R50 and R250, we will work on their cases for Facebook episodes. This means we will confront the suspects on our Facebook page and hold them accountable in public.”
One of the victims of the scam from Mount Fletcher, Eastern Cape, told Sowetan that he was scammed by a woman he met in Mthatha.
“I sent her R350 for transport. She was supposed to come on a weekend and she didn't. When I asked the reason, she said the taxi was taking too long to get full and she went back home. She said the same thing a second time.
"I realised that I was being scammed. I then saw this show on YouTube and they assisted me to get my money back. I am against what women are doing because it changes the way you treat other women as a man,” he said.
Gal Pay Back My Money exposes Facebook female scammers
Women cash in on men looking for love
Image: Supplied
A Facebook page that exposes women who scam men after promising to visit them has become a hit.
The social media page and YouTube TV channel called Gal Pay Back My Money is not only exposing scammers but also forcing them to pay back the money to the men they have scammed. Since it was launched, it has had many success stories where men got their money back after being robbed in the name of love. Some of the victims meet the scammers on social media and the women promise to visit them if they paid for transport and other necessities.
The show was founded by Matodzi Makananisa to help victims. Its Facebook page, which was launched last month, boasts 75,000 followers.
The men who approach the show for assistance come from various provinces in SA. According to Makananisa, the type of women who are involved in the scam include students, young women and married women. Some of these women are employed while others are unemployed.
Speaking to Sowetan this week, Makananisa said he realised that many women were making a career out of scamming men.
“What happens is that a guy meets a girl and he likes her. The conversation moves from social media and dating apps to WhatsApp. They then wish to see each other. The lady asks for money for transport, money to do their hair and buy new dress because she wants to look good. We have a case where a guy spent almost R10,000 on a date that never happened. He paid R5,000 on a return flight ticket, R1,000 for hair, R1,000 for a dress, R500 for airtime and food.
“When we receive a complaint, we do our own verification to check its legitimacy. We ask for slips, voice notes, texts and proof of payment. When we are sure everything is legit, we expose the culprit. We tell the women exposed that scamming someone is a crime, and they can even go to jail. Because they are afraid to go to jail, they pay the money back ... fast.”
Makananisa believes the act of scamming men on its own contributes to gender-based violence (GBV) because some people react differently to it. He said exposing and confronting women was the only way to hold them accountable.
“If we are serious about ending GBV, we need to hold each other accountable. Women are playing a role in GBV and as much as we are afraid to talk about it, it is a fact.”
According to Makananisa, they have received thousands of complaints from various provinces, but North West and Gauteng lead the pack.
“What we did was call on men to write in, we received hundreds of requests to help. We then realised we would not be able to shoot all these cases for TV episodes. We have since decided that for all the men who were robbed for between R50 and R250, we will work on their cases for Facebook episodes. This means we will confront the suspects on our Facebook page and hold them accountable in public.”
One of the victims of the scam from Mount Fletcher, Eastern Cape, told Sowetan that he was scammed by a woman he met in Mthatha.
“I sent her R350 for transport. She was supposed to come on a weekend and she didn't. When I asked the reason, she said the taxi was taking too long to get full and she went back home. She said the same thing a second time.
"I realised that I was being scammed. I then saw this show on YouTube and they assisted me to get my money back. I am against what women are doing because it changes the way you treat other women as a man,” he said.
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