KZN women scammed over R100k on TikTok by man who promised them marriage

KZN women including two single mothers and a divorcee from KZN were scammed on TikTok by a man who promised to marry them.

Sep 17, 2022 - 13:41

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KZN women scammed over R100k on TikTok by man who promised them marriage

Three women from KwaZulu-Natal including two single mothers aged 26 and 32 and a 36-year-old divorcee have been scammed for a total of R113 450 on TikTok by the same man who promised them marriage.

According to private security Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), the women who reside in Verulam and Phoenix in KZN have been approaching them since September 3, 2022 seeking assistance to free their online friend who was on route to South Africa to marry them, but was stuck at various airports in Africa.

KZN WOMEN SCAMMED ON TIKTOK

RUSA spokesperson, Prem Balram said according to the women they met the man on Tik Tok after they received compliments on videos they had posted. The man informed the woman that he was a single Military Doctor and a multi millionaire from the state of Oregan in the USA.

The man added that he was deployed to Syria, Afghanistan, Kabul & lately to Istanbul in Turkey. Over the past few weeks he informed the woman that he intended to leave Turkey and arrive in Durban to marry the women. The women are unknown to each other and all three prepared for his arrival this week.

Balram said when RUSA was approached earlier this month, the women were cautioned that they were being scammed. The divorcee and a single mother reportedly refused to accept that the man was a scammer and continued communicating with him. All three were eventually scammed for R113 450. The woman that ceased communication was scammed R450 only.

“According to the women the doctor left Istanbul and was detained after he failed to clear wedding gifts through customs. He approached each woman for cash explaining that his card had over 60 million US Dollars that were frozen by the United States Military and he needed a few thousand dollars to sort out the Custom Officers.
“Hours later he informed the woman that he was detained at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya. He needed more money to bribe Border Control Police when they discovered that his passport had expired. The woman paid several thousand Rand into his Bitcoin Account,” Balram explained.
Prem Balram

women scammed TikTok — One of the conversations. Image: Supplied.

Earlier this week the man reportedly contacted the women again, informing them that he was kept without food at various airports in Africa and could not contact them. He led them to believe that he had finally sorted matters and was heading to Durban to finalise wedding arrangements. Both single mothers were promised electronic gifts for their children.

Furthermore, Balram said two of the women contacted the RUSA operations centre seeking advice after the man requested more money for a Covid-19 test and several pints of blood that would cost thousands of Rands. He blamed the woman for his detention and his health issues that required urgent blood transfusion. The divorcee paid R4000 and was later informed that her future husband was not being released after a laboratory at King Shaka International Airport was holding him until more monies were paid.

“The women were eventually convinced that they were scammed after reaction officers called the South African Police service at King Shaka International Airport and confirmed that no such laboratory existed at the airport and no person with the provided details was being held in custody.
“The scammer identified himself as Howard Chesser and used the Watsapp Account with mobile number +2347046492485. His TikTok Account is Chesser 205. Images on this account could be fake.”
Prem Balram