This week, our story is a pure romantic scam 101. We have Refilwe Masango (67), a former teacher and mother of three children from Mafikeng. Refilwe states that she met a scammer named Jacob in February 2022 and was scammed in April 2023. Jacob is believed to be from Uganda. She met Jacob on a Christian dating website called Christian Dating for Free (CDFF).
Refilwe says Jacob persuaded her to sell her property in Rustenburg so that she could proceed to buy a new property based in Johannesburg. On 29 March 2023, Refilwe received cash proceeds of R2.5 million from the sale of her property in Rustenburg.
“The property was valued at R4 million, but I was persuaded by the scammer boyfriend to sell the property for only R2.5 million,” she said. She started the process of buying the new property when she was invited by Jacob to Joburg. When she arrived, Jacob (her boyfriend) fetched her from where the taxi dropped her off upon her arrival.
Refilwe says, “He then took me to the guest lodge next to BluBird Shopping Centre in Joburg.” Jacob is said to have presented himself as a businessman who buys and sells property and cars. “At the lodge, he gave me a bottle of wine, and I told him that I do not drink alcohol. He said he had to go and attend to a client, and he left,” says Refilwe. After a few hours, Jacob returned to the hotel room and insisted that they go to 85 Auckland Avenue in Joburg in order to introduce her to his uncle.
“When we arrived, I had a conversation with the so-called uncle. Before food was served, a woman emerged from the kitchen. I describe her as a wizard because of her appearance. She came straight to me and put her hand on my face, saying she was welcoming me into the family. That was the last time I met that woman. I was stunned,” she said.
Refilwe says she felt fear because she was alone in an unfamiliar place. Jacob’s uncle also told Refilwe that he had a spiritual gift, and as the night continued, rituals were performed in a very dark room.
“I was taken into the darkest room ever. They called it a prayer room, with candles lit, but it was still very dark. There were animal skins and a small hut with a thatched roof inside the room. There were all sorts of scary things in that room. I was hopeless, thinking that it was my last day in the land of the living. In that room, I was told that my ancestors would talk to me directly. I was then told to start worshipping. While I was worshipping in that room, suddenly a voice echoed, saying my name. The voice, which purported to be ancestors, said I had been suffering and that the time had come for my troubles to end,” she said.
Refilwe believes that the food, drinks, and the rituals are what caused her not to be in her sober senses. On 4 April 2023, “I was then instructed to go to the FNB branch in Greenstone to make a cash withdrawal of R150,000.” She further states that she was accompanied to the bank by the uncle and Jacob.
“I had not made any booking, but I was given R130,000 over the counter,” she said.
Two days later, Jacob told her to go back to the bank to withdraw R2 million. She argued with Jacob that it would not be possible because it was a huge withdrawal and she had not booked, but the scammers insisted that she should not worry. Jacob and the uncle informed her that “they had already arranged everything with FNB and they know people.”
She was driven to the FNB branch in Sandton on 6 April 2023. Refilwe told the bank teller that she was there to withdraw R2 million and was told to wait. She was then called by a bank teller who gave her R1.4 million in cash. Jacob and the uncle had a suitcase with them, but the cash would not fit into the suitcase.
“They squeezed the money into the bag. Everything was happening very fast. From there, I was taken to the car and we drove away,” she said. Yoh! On 8 April 2023, Jacob and the uncle took her to the FNB Sandton branch to withdraw R600,000 and again accompanied her into the bank.
“In the bank, I was helped by the same teller, Yolanda, and the same bank manager by the name of Rieta was very involved. I was given R600,000 in cash, and the scammers took the money into the same pink suitcase,” she said.
After the withdrawal of these three transactions (proceeds from the sale of her property), she was then released by Jacob to leave Joburg. Refilwe still says that she believes she was not in her sober senses even at this point. She was taken to a taxi rank to go back home to Mafikeng.
“After I arrived home, the scammers called me and instructed me to deposit an additional R130,000 into an FNB account in the name of Omega Masuku on 11 April 2023, and I complied.”
Refilwe stated that after this scam, her life took a turn for the worse.
Refilwe says, “I was getting R42,000 per month as rental income, but right now I am only surviving on an old-age grant from the government. To try and survive, I am doing events, and that is a seasonal business. I cannot rely on that. It is so painful for me because I was forced to downgrade my whole life. That is not easy. There are times when I am down, very depressed. I have three children and one orphan that I am supposed to take care of. For the orphaned child, I used to contribute R1,500 monthly for transport, and that stopped suddenly. Every month-end, when the transaction has to go through, it really pains me because she dropped out of school. She is on her own now,” said Refilwe.
“FNB should have cross-questioned me and refused to give me such a huge amount of money in cash. After opening a case with the South African Police Service, the bank teller and manager indicated that for any money more than R50,000, they do not give out cash. They say they do transactions inside the bank. How come I was allowed to withdraw over R2 million in one week and no eyebrows were raised?” she asked.
DISCLAIMER! This content is for educational and informational purposes based on publicly available information.
Source: IOL