Romance scam: KZN women scammed almost R100k by fake pilot

The man who scammed women from KZN promised to marry them and visit South Africa, would ask them to send R5000 daily.

Four women from different towns in Kwazulu-Natal were reportedly scammed of almost R100 000 by a fake pilot who promised to marry them.

In 2022, three women from KZN including two single mothers aged 26, 32 and a 36-year-old divorcee were scammed for a total of R113 450 on TikTok by the same man who promised them marriage.

WOMEN SCAMMED BY FAKE PILOT

According to private security, Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) over the past week women reported a man identifying himself as a pilot that had scammed them of thousands of rands.

The man reportedly introduced himself as Ravi Kumar, a single airline pilot residing in Los Angeles – California in the United States.

He sends out friend requests to women on Facebook and during a chat on Facebook Messenger, he asks for a contact number.

The women are then contacted on WhatsApp using the number +39 3510164225. The prefix +39 is the International Dialling Code for Italy in Europe.

ALSO READ: KZN women scammed over R100k on TikTok by man who promised them marriage

VICTIMS ASKED TO DEPOSIT MONEY FOR GIFTS

RUSA spokesperson, Prem Balram said after chatting to the victims for a few weeks the man requests home addresses so he can send gifts.

The women were sent images of a box that contained 15 000 US Dollars (Roughly R300 000).

The scammer then professes his love,  promises to visit South Africa and marry the victims. Later he requests R5000 daily on each occasion explaining that the box packed with gifts and cash were being withheld at customs, he was stuck at the airport or his bank cards were lost.

“The women were collectively scammed out of R97 000,” Balram said.

ALSO READ: More women scammed on TikTok by a man who promised them marriage