Cape Town - A disheartened Cape Town-based businesswoman has approached a lawyer seeking legal assistance to recover R5 million from the State and a bank after losing the money to a romance scam that left her high and dry and heavily indebted.
Jill Davids (not her real name) has joined thousands of
middle-class single women from around the world who have been manipulated or
brainwashed to believe that they had through social media found filthy rich men
who would pamper them with love and romance, only to realise later that the
would-be lovers disappeared with their hard-earned cash.
The cybercrime victim of what is popularly known as a
“romance scam” is so embarrassed and ashamed that she asked for her name to be
withheld.
Her lawyer, advocate Carlo Viljoen, is confident the bank,
the name of which is known to the Independent Media, and the SAPS can be held
accountable for her massive loss. Viljoen said because of the delay by the
police and the bank to act, there was a slim or no chance of the victim
recovering her money from scammers.
“I know in America they have actually won a few cases
against banks because they said the banks are actually accommodating this
fraud. That is what I am trying to bring in South Africa as well,” said
Viljoen.
However, Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Bonnie Nxumalo
said two suspects aged 33 and 35 had been arrested in connection with Davids's
case, and that they would appear at the Bellville Special Commercial Crime
Court, Cape Town, on February 15.
She said police were investigating several cases of fraud
with similar modus operandi.
Viljoen said he had for years been coming across the
victims of the scam and had been warning women not to fall for it. Davids is
among the three victims he is representing with the aim of recovering the
money. He said the other victims have each lost about R1m. He said the banks
should have used their exchange control mechanism.
“The banks should have been aware of these scams and they
should have seen that these ladies are paying a big amount of money, which is
highly unusual for a 60-year-old. After (Davids) complained, the bank should
have frozen these amounts before they could be transferred out of the bank
account until the investigation is completed,” said Viljoen.
He is working with Global Attorneys, a group of
international lawyers who have dedicated their time to help the victims of
romance scams. A few years ago, the South African Banking Risk Information
Centre said in a press statement: “Even when banks are able to detect that a
victim is about to make a payment based on false pretences, these victims often
insist on proceeding with the transaction as they do not accept that they are
being defrauded.”
Before being scammed, Davids ran a successful public
relations company, whose 19 big clients included multinational companies such
as Swiss Air, Air France, Emirates Airline, Air Seychelles, and Milky Lane. But
having lost everything, including a mansion in Johannesburg and cars, she has
now moved to Cape Town to live from hand to mouth and is dependent on Good
Samaritans for financial support.
Davids had three years ago posted on Facebook looking for
someone to help her publish a book which she had authored. The supposedly rich
man responded and charmed his way into her heart and purse. He introduced
himself as Allen Craig and claimed to be a South African-based Italian, a
successful car dealer living in Camps Bay. She said she later discovered the
name and picture of the suspect to be identity theft.
She said after months of WhatsApp and telephonic romantic
communication, the suspect, who by then claimed to have visited Italy for a
wedding, started telling her about having a problem with his bank account and
convinced her to lend him money with a promise to repay her.
“I started by depositing R15 000 and this guy kept
requesting more and more money, and I agreed because he promised to pay me as
soon as his account is sorted,” she said.
The suspect sweet-talked Davids into sending him a huge
amount of cash on various occasions. When her bank account had run dry, the
manipulation continued and led her to sell her property. When she was left with
nothing else to sell, the suspect again sweet-talked her to take a loan of R3m
and deposit the cash into his bank account, which was closed soon after the
transfer.
“I have to repay the loan with a monthly instalment of R50
000, and I was hoping the (suspect) would pay the loan. I have not even started
paying because I don’t have money,” she said.
When she was expecting to meet the man, the telephone and
WhatsApp conversations disappeared. She then approached the police after
establishing the scammer’s workplace.
“Police opened a docket but closed the case without even
conducting an investigation. I reopened the case, but they later told me that
the docket had disappeared. I have since referred the matter to the Hawks,” she
said.
She also approached a private investigator who told her
that chances of recovering the money were nil.
The three victims have been referred to Viljoen by Sky
Women, an organisation that supports victims and campaigns against the scam. It
is working on “action against 419 scams/ cyberfraud on social media”.
The Banking Association SA could not comment on Viljoen’s
legal action as it is not sure of the legality of the matter.
The www.nbcnews.com reported early last year that the
Federal Trade Commission received more than 25 000 complaints about romance
scams in 2019. IOL
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