Police are warning the community to be vigilant of an emerging ‘honeytrap’ scam targeting teachers in the Honeydew policing area.
Honeydew Police Station spokesperson Captain Balan Muthan said that victims were scammed in a romantic scenario, where single and lonely victims were contacted by scammers offering a potential romantic partnership.
The police are currently investigating several cases where victims have lost large sums of money, with some losing up to R1 million.
“These scammers prey mainly on elderly retired teachers, especially those who have lost their partners and are feeling lonely,” said Muthan.
He said that after a rapport is established between victims and scammers, scammers can access the victim’s funds either by going with them directly to the bank, via money transfer or by obtaining their bank account details.
As the scam mainly targets retired teachers, police are investigating how the teachers’ contact information was obtained.
“We understand that foreign nationals are allegedly behind this scam, and cases are under investigation. We are warning the public to be vigilant of any person that contacts you out of the blue and offers you a romantic partnership. If you have never met the person and you have no idea how they obtained your number, they are most likely trying to scam you,” concluded Muthan.
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