Zim’s New Pandemic as Online Scams Leave Trail of Financial Ruin

By Takudzwa Tondoya

An increasing number of Zimbabweans are falling victim to digital con artists promising everything from jobs, investment opportunities to online shopping deals.

Across the country stories are mounting of victims who have lost their savings, identity information or even their dignity to elaborate online fraud schemes.

The scams often orchestrated via social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp are growing in sophistication, blending fake websites, cloned accounts and convincing stories.

Thirty-two-year-old Tariro Moyo from Gweru was lured into paying US$150 for what she believed was a visa processing service to work in Dubai.

“They had a professional-looking website, testimonials and even someone claiming to be an embassy official. I only realised I had been scammed after the number was no longer reachable,” she said.

In one incident, a United Kingdom based Zimbabwean lost an undisclosed amount of money to scammers purporting to be from the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR).

“I lost quite a lot to thieves who are using a fake CVR website, I wanted to pay for vehicle number plates and when I paid, the scammers disappeared that’s when I realised, I had been duped,” he said.

Recently, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) warned members of the public against seeking for employment, other special services and private engagements through social media platforms especially with people whose identity is not checked or verified.

The warning came after a 30-year-old Chitungwiza woman was robbed and raped after she was offered employment as a shopkeeper in Domboshava by an unknown “woman” through WhatsApp.

A Tech expert warned that economic hardships and high unemployment rate in the country are making people more vulnerable to too-good-to-be-true promises online.

“These scammers are clever. They prey on desperation. They know how to speak the language of hope. Scammers don’t sleep. Neither should our vigilance,” said Leeroy Chirara a tech expert.