Corona: How conmen are ripping people off

Towards the end of last month, Charity Amoding received a phone call from a man who only identified himself as Michael. The man claimed to be a long lost friend. When Amoding responded by saying she did not have any friend called Michael, the man went ahead to mention her full name, age, current place of residence and village, which was all correct information.

But even after volunteering all this information, Amoding could still not remember ever knowing or meeting any Michael. She was confused. But rather than cut him off, she went ahead to give him audience, hoping he had something important to stay.

“Are you working at the moment?” Michael asked her.
“Yes, I am,” she responded. “Are they paying you well at your current job?” he continued asking.
Amoding remained silent for a few seconds, wondering what to tell Michael.

“Charity speak to me. I want to help you,” he calmly stated.

Amoding hesitantly proceeded with the conversation by telling Michael she was being paid mere peanuts.
“Does the job come with health insurance?” he asked further. “No,” she responded.
Michael went ahead to comfort Amoding, saying he was sorry her employer was exploiting her and that she deserved better.

“There is an international company currently looking for new workers. They will pay you about Shs3 million every month. Just imagine what you will do with this money in this coronavirus times. In addition, they will provide health insurance plus other allowances,” he said.

And all Amoding had to do was send Michael her curriculum vitae (CV).
“Just send me that and I will sort everything else,” he reassuringly told her.
Amoding developed mixed feelings.

Although she became excited about the idea of getting a new job, she was also worried. Here was a so-called lost friend offering her an opportunity of a lifetime and all that he was asking for was a CV.

A few days later, she sent it to him via email.
“I sent it to him because I saw no hidden agenda. I mean it is only a CV,” she says.
Then she waited for feedback.

After earning trust, the trap is finally laid.
A few days later, when Michael called again, Amoding jumped up with joy. She knew Michael was calling to give her good news.

“My dear, everything is going smoothly. I gave these people your CV and they want to meet you,” he said.
Amoding smiled, before Michael added: “I know these people are going to give you the job. I am sure. As a way of showing your appreciation, I encourage you to take some money, about Shs250,000. Give it to one of the men. He will distribute it to others.”

For a moment, Amoding paused. Then it hit her that several years ago, another man had called her promising a lucrative job if she gave him money. Immediately, it sunk in that this too was a scam.
She told Michael off by telling him to stop taking advantage of innocent people in such difficult times.
“We are here suffering and there you are conning people of their little savings,” she said, before adding: “May you burn in hell.”

Michael switched off the phone.
Amoding believes the conman must have done background research using information from social media and that is why he was able to reveal her full name, addresses and current job. By giving such kind of information, he was trying to win her trust, which he did to some extent. Unfortunately, his luck run out.

Michael is not the only conman or woman looming around in these difficult times laying traps for unsuspecting victims.

The mobile money fraudsters
There are currently anonymous people calling mobile money users asking for details about their accounts, including pin numbers.

“Some man called me claiming to be working in one of the telecom companies. He confidently told me they were upgrading their system and needed my pin number,” a businessman, who identifies himself only as Ojok, says.

“Just as I was about to utter it out, I recalled a radio announcement discouraging telecom customers from revealing their pin numbers to anyone. So, I told him telecom companies had warned us not to do so. And before I knew it, the man went offline.”

When Ojok called the number again, the call went through but was unanswered. It was then that he realised it must have been a fraudster.

In order to avoid losing considerable amounts of money, telecommunication companies are continuously warning their respective customers to be more vigilant and never to disclose any confidential information about their mobile money accounts.

Random boda boda
Do you trust that boda boda man transporting your goods?
With public transport still temporarily banned, a number of people are continuing to rely on motorcyclists (boda boda) riders to carry their merchandise from markets, shops to their respective homes.

The riders can only carry merchandise because they are still banned from carrying passengers as one of the measures to fight Covid-19. But should you trust any random boda boda rider to carry your purchases? Maybe Bridget Naluyima’s experience can help you reflect on that answer.

About two weeks ago, Naluyima walked from her home in Bweyogerere, a suburb on the outskirts of Kampala, to Banda Market. The aim was to shop for groceries. The market, also found in the outskirts of the city centre, is about a one hour’s walk from her home.

Naluyima ended up not only shopping for groceries but other food items as well, including beans, rice, matooke, Irish and sweet potatoes and fruits. The 28-year-old then realised she could not carry all the items back home by herself.

She stopped a random boda boda cyclist, had some chit-chat before telling him she needed help to transport the groceries home.

“No problem, madam. Just give me your address,” he told her.
She gave him the address before asking for his phone number in return. In order to ascertain that it was really his number, she called and it went through.

The boda boda man picked the phone from his pocket, confirming the number.

The rider asked for Shs2,000 as transport charges. Naluyima gave him the money. But before he could ride off, she told him that upon reaching, he would hand over the items to her young sister, who would be waiting in the compound.
She also made him swear that he would make the delivery.

“Make sure you deliver these food items. Once you are done, beep me. I will then call you back,” she told him.
He sped off.

Naluyima followed him on foot. One hour later after reaching home, there was no sign of any food. The boda boda man did not reach the premises.

Naluyima called his phone number several times in vain. It was not going through. The man made off with items worth about Shs56,000. In the end, she learnt her lesson to never trust any random boda boda rider to ferry food items home.

How fraudsters psychologically play on victim’s minds
Stella Kyomugisha, a training psychologist, says: “Fraudsters always find a way of playing mind games to gain the victim’s trust. There are those who will appear so comforting and friendly so that they can win the victim over. There are also those who will use Christian doctrines in their schemes. By using Christianity, they want to appear trust-worthy and honest, yet they are not. They will use phrases such as ‘God bless you’, ‘this is an answered prayer for you’, among others.

At the end of the day, it is important that one does not just give into any deal someone tells them. Ask questions, consult with other people and if you suspect anything, pull out before it is too late.”