4 Women From KwaZulu-Natal Swindled Out of R97 000 in Romance Scam by Fake International Airline Pilot

• Four women from KwaZulu-Natal have fallen victim to an elaborate scam by a man pretending to be an airline pilot
• The women were swindled out of almost R100 000 in the scam that started with Facebook requests
• The man would pretend to send a package containing money and gifts, then ask for money to get the package cleared by customs

DURBAN - Four women from different towns in KwaZulu-Natal have been sucked into a scheme that has cost them almost R100 000 collectively.

The women were caught up in a Tinder Swindler-type scam after they crossed virtual paths with a man who claimed he was an international airline pilot.

Fake pilot uses Facebook to target KwaZulu-Natal women

The man would target his victims by sending them friend requests on Facebook and begin chatting with them on the messenger app.

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He would introduce himself as Ravi Kumar, a single pilot living in Los Angeles, California but flying around the world. The fake pilot will then ask for his victim's contact details and move the scam to WhatsApp, The South African reported.

This is where the man who identifies himself as Rami Kumar would pepper the woman with doting messages, calling them beautiful, professing his love and promising to marry them.

Fake pilot scams KZN woman out of almost R100 000 after sending fake packages

After weeks of messaging and developing a romantic bond, he would surprise his victims by claiming to be sending them packages with R300 000 ($15 000), wigs, phones and other gifts.

After supposedly sending the package, the fake pilot tells the women that the box with the gifts and money is being withheld by customs and he can't pay because he lost his bank cards.

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He allegedly requested R5 000 on several occasions and collectively scammed R97 000 out of the women. The scam was reported to Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), which shared the story online.

Connie Ferguson: Forex trader impersonating her allegedly scams Lady R800k, Joburg high court issues interdict

In a similar story, Briefly News reported that Connie Ferguson's name was allegedly used to defraud people out of their money.

According to Sunday World, Forex traders used the Generations: The Legacy star's name to defraud a woman named Matokgo Elizabeth Makutoane of R800 000.

The news publication reported that Makutoane opened a fraud case in the Johannesburg High Court. The court imposed an urgent interdict to prevent Elizabeth's defrauders from withdrawing the funds.

Source: Briefly News