The Parkweg police in Bloemfontein have urged the public to be vigilant of criminals targeting unsuspecting individuals who are looking for love online.
South African Police Services spokesperson Captain Chaka Marope said that there were several cases of this nature and charges of extortion were being investigated.
“Criminals have moved with the times and now are turning to clever ruses and use social media platform to solicit money from unsuspecting victims. This trend in the behaviour of criminals is alarming and the police are imploring the community to be more vigilant,” said Marope.
“Typically, the modus operandi of these criminals is that they target unsuspecting and vulnerable people who are [using] on-line dating. They established a chatting platform and relationship with the victims and in a process lured them to exchange their nude pictures using [the] social media platform.”
He added that after a while these criminals would then demand the victims to deposit a certain amount of money via money market transactions, failing which they threatened to circulate the victim`s nude pictures on social media platforms.
“The police would like to alert the public of these internet fraudsters that they are out there preying on them and their money.”
– African News Agency (ANA)
