The Consumer Council has raised the alarm over a surge in fraudulent individuals exploiting innocent consumers by impersonating prominent CEOs on Vodafone’s M-PAiSA platform.

Recent investigations have exposed numerous instances of deceitful tactics, leading to unsuspecting victims falling prey to these malicious schemes.

According to the Council, one of the most troubling cases involves an imposter posing as the Chief Executive of Investment Fiji Kamal Chetty.

The fraudulent individual has been using Chetty’s identity, including his photo, to lure victims into a scam promising lucrative investment returns.

Several consumers have been targeted and approached with investment offers, which require them to transfer $500 via M-PAiSA with the promise of a quick return of $1000 within 48 hours.

However, the promised returns never materialize, leaving victims at a loss, and further demands for a $1000 withdrawal fee compound the deception.

The Consumer Council was alerted to this activity by one of the victims who fell for the scam.

Further investigations have uncovered screenshots of a Viber group, suggesting the involvement of multiple perpetrators who encourage others to participate in this fraudulent investment scheme.

Another distressing case brought to light by the Council involves an imposter posing as various hotel General Managers across Fiji to extort money from unsuspecting staff members.

A hotel in Suva reported that its staff members were targeted, and $800 was extracted by a scammer pretending to be their General Manager.

Chief Executive Seema Shandil is urging Fijians to exercise extreme caution and discretion when making online payments.

She has stressed the importance of verifying the identity and authenticity of individuals before engaging in any financial transactions, especially those involving significant sums of money.

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