Cops have caught a Nigerian national who allegedly scammed a woman out of a whopping R24 million after bowling her on social media.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi says officers attached to the Commercial Crime Investigation Unit led a multidisciplinary operation on Tuesday, which resulted in the arrest of a 42-year-old Nigerian national in Parklands.
Swartbooi says: “Reports suggested that the complainant, a Canadian citizen, reported a romance scam in 2022 in which she indicated that she met an unknown person on social media, known as Raymond Butler.”
The two chatted on a dating website and later privately, until “Raymond” convinced the woman to invest R24m in a project abroad.
Swartbooi says the investigating officer made a breakthrough when he nabbed the suspect at a premises in Charing Crescent, Parklands in Table View.
Swartbooi adds: “The suspect is expected to make a court appearance in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, once charged for fraud.”
Police have the following tips for women to identify possible dating scammers:
- They look and sound very caring and responsible
- They always come up with a business proposals
- They do not want their pictures to be taken
- They do not want to meet with you in a public place
- They do not introduce you to their families
- They always come up with contradictory stories