South african dating scams

Your hot date may be a hotline to becoming a scam victim

The eighth suspect, Toritseju Gabriel Otubu, had his extradition inquiry separated from the others and awaits judgment on April The charges against the group include wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft. The state alleges they used false identities to deceive victims into sending money to South Africa. Otubu has additionally requested the court to rule on how the principle of double criminality should be interpreted in this extradition proceeding. Hannah Johnson Hannah, an exciting journalist with over a year of media experience, writes engaging content for social and digital media. All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: [email protected]. Stay informed and ahead of the curve! Don't miss a headline — join now!

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A recent survey shows that over 49 million people in the United States alone have tried online dating. This can be a great way for singles to meet their perfect match, but is also a way for cybercriminals to seek out their victims. The increased prevalence of romance scams is worrying and very difficult to curb given that the modus operandi exploits the emotions of the victim who believes that they are in a romantic relationship with someone who allegedly cares for them. Such communications are usually confidential and very personal and victims are often too embarrassed to publically admit to being manipulated and ultimately defrauded. Whilst online dating and romance scams were initially perpetrated by fraudsters who were either operating alone or in relatively small syndicated groups, organised criminals have now entered this arena and the scale and sophistication of these scams has increased significantly in recent times.

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Eight suspected members of an international crime consortium have been arrested in South Africa, and accused of participating in money laundering schemes, financial fraud, and internet-based romance scams. The men, who all hail from Nigeria and are aged between 33 and 52 years old, were arrested during raids in Cape Town by the Hawks, the elite division of the South African police which targets organised crime.

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Dating and Romance Scams

Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning. Catfishing, sextortion, phishing and other romance scams are big business for fraudsters. According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre Sabric , some terror groups have been targeting South Africans to finance their criminal acts through romance scams.

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