Scammers are targeting elderly women, particularly retirees, to swindle them out of substantial amounts of money through fraudulent romance schemes. Reshmi Dass, the Acting Director of Economic Crime, revealed during an event for National Scam Awareness Week at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva that there are nearly ten such cases currently in court. One woman tragically lost approximately $500,000 due to this deceitful practice.
Ms. Dass explained that the scammers often sweet-talk their victims, mostly women aged between 60 and 70, into sending nude photographs. Once they receive the images, the perpetrators threaten to release them on social media unless the victims pay up.
“We have been receiving complaints, and the victims are retired ladies who have shared intimate pictures with these individuals,” Ms. Dass stated. “To extract money from them, the scammers would threaten to expose these photos online, aiming to tarnish their reputations.”
She noted that similar romance scams are actively being prosecuted, with one particular perpetrator posing as a younger man based overseas while using a WhatsApp number to contact these vulnerable women.
“This man has been engaging in sweet talks with his victims. The woman I mentioned was deceived into sending him $500,000. It was only when she discovered he was actually local and had targeted many other women that she decided to report him,” Ms. Dass added.
She urged women to be cautious about sharing personal information and photographs with strangers online. “Please be vigilant when disclosing any personal information on social media. If you receive messages from unfamiliar individuals, do not share personal details or photographs that could lead to fraud, similar to what this individual has been doing. We currently have around eight or nine cases against this man pending in court.”