Two men and two women are set to appear in the Labasa Magistrates Court today following charges brought by the Fiji Police MPaisa Taskforce for obtaining financial advantage through deception.
The first case involves two men, aged 45 and 27, who allegedly worked together on August 18 of last year to defraud a victim of $790 by hacking into the Viber account of the victim’s friend. The victim received a message requesting the money for urgent needs and, unaware of the hack, sent the funds. After the transfer, the 27-year-old reportedly withdrew the money, giving $310 to the first accused and keeping $480 for himself. The scam was uncovered when the victim contacted his friend, who confirmed he had never requested any money.
In the second case, a 29-year-old woman is accused of dishonestly obtaining $548 from a victim in March 2023. The victim filed a report at the Nakasi Police Station upon realizing the unauthorized transfer.
In a third incident, a 43-year-old woman allegedly took $40 from a victim in December of last year after the victim provided her personal information and One Time Pin in relation to a purported investment opportunity. The accused allegedly used the OTP to withdraw the funds.
All five individuals face charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception.