Scamming victims in Mozambique say they’ve been conned out of thousands of dollars by a fraudster who promised them jobs in Portugal that didn’t exist.
Thirteen people in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, each paid between 20,000 and 60,000 meticais (between $310 and $940; or £250 and £740) to a man who said he would arrange their travel and papers.
A Portuguese suspect found with 13 Mozambican passports in his possession has been detained by the police. Two other Mozambican nationals are also being held.
One of the victims said he was desperate to work in Portugal, and so like many others he paid the fake fixer by remote transfer, despite never meeting him in person.
“Whenever I phoned, he said ‘in a meeting and I can’t talk now’,” the victim says.
Another woman who was conned says she is now jobless after ending her contract in Mozambique because she thought a new one awaited her in Portugal.
“The message I would like to give to others is just be very careful about this”, she says.
Source: BBC