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KZN’s Unlucky Four: How Four Women from Kwazulu-Natal Lost a Whopping R100,000 to a Fake Pilot’s Love Scam
In an intriguing story that could easily be the plot of a gripping Netflix documentary, four women from different towns in Kwazulu-Natal found themselves ensnared in the sly clutches of a deceptive imposter.
This cunning individual, posing as a pilot, lured them into a web of lies and trickery, resulting in a devastating loss of nearly R100,000.
One would assume that after the exposure of the deceitful tactics employed by the notorious “Tinder Swindler,” women would exercise caution when encountering charming individuals on the internet.
How Four Women From KZN Lost Nearly R100k To Fake Pilot
According to reports, this fraudster targeted women from KZN, promising them marriage and a visit to South Africa, all while cunningly persuading them to send him a daily sum of R5000.
Private security organization Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) has received multiple reports from women who have fallen prey to this self-proclaimed pilot, losing thousands of rands in the process.
The imposter, who goes by the name Ravi Kumar, claimed to be a single airline pilot residing in Los Angeles, California, United States.
His modus operandi involved sending friend requests to women on Facebook and initiating conversations through Facebook Messenger. He would then request their contact numbers.
Using the number +39 3510164225 on WhatsApp, which has an international dialling code (+39) associated with Italy in Europe, the fraudster would establish further communication with his victims.
Women Asked To Send Money For Gifts
According to RUSA spokesperson Prem Balram, the imposter would chat with the victims for a few weeks before asking for their home addresses to send them gifts.
The women were then shown images of a box supposedly containing $15,000 (roughly R300,000) in cash and gifts.
With declarations of love and promises to visit South Africa and marry the victims, the scammer would eventually demand R5000 from each woman daily. He would justify these requests by claiming that the box, filled with gifts and money, was being held up by customs, or he was stranded at the airport, or his bank cards had been misplaced.
BBalram revealed that the collective amount scammed from these women reached a staggering R97,000.
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