A picture of a stressed woman. [Courtesy]
A 28-year-old Kenyan woman is seeking DCI help to trace a fraudster who conned her out of Sh52,000 under the guise of love.
The woman had been deceived into believing the man, whom she met online, had sent her gifts, which she was to collect upon reception at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
A few days later, she was called by her said-UK-based boyfriend and told that the shipment, comprising gold necklaces and other assorted jewellery, had arrived at the JKIA.
Thereafter, a conman, pretending to be a JKIA parcels officer, called the woman, and asked her to send him Sh52,000 for landing fee and clearance charges. The woman sent the money via mobile.
However, when she arrived at the airport to collect her gift, the agent’s phone was unreachable.
“Detectives based at the JKIA have in recent months received many such reports, where young ladies have lost money to fraudsters, with preliminary investigations indicating that the fraudsters mainly operate from Kisumu and Kiambu,” the DCI said on Facebook on Friday, April 30.
The airport-based officers claim they have, in recent past, noticed a rise in number of young women “thronging JKIA’s international gateway, ostensibly to collect gifts that have been sent by their online ‘suitors’.”
“However, upon arrival, they are shocked to realise that they have been conned and no such packages exist,” the DCI said.
“The fraudsters, who masquerade as successful businessmen with their social media timelines teeming with photos of their supposed flashy lifestyles, prey on young ladies whom they promise blissful lives abroad and offer to send them expensive gifts to demonstrate their seriousness.”
The DCI warned: “We wish to caution ladies to be wary of such fraudsters who may end up tricking them into more dangerous situations, some of which may cost them their lives.”
