Youth Empowerment and Development minister, Tinoda Machakaire, has warned Zimbabweans at home and abroad to be wary of yet-to-be-identified scammers who are on the prowl impersonating him and other high-profile Zimbabweans demanding money.
In a statement, Machakaire accused the scammers of causing him reputational damage in business, politics, and government.
Machakaire said he was inundated with reports of fraudsters impersonating him and using foreign-registered telephone numbers to target their victims requesting money.
“It has come to our attention that there are misleading messages circulating on social media, requesting for payments or suggesting business partnerships with high-profile Zimbabweans. One of the names used is Machakaire,” Machakaire said.
“The public is being warned to be alert and wary of any United Kingdom, South Africa and Mozambique phone numbers which will be used to impersonate high profile Zimbabweans asking for money transfers.”
Machakaire said he has since filed a police report while also conducting private investigations to bring the scammers to book.
“Be advised that police and other law enforcement authorities are on the lookout for such scammers and legal action will be taken to deal with such criminals,” he said.
“We want to warn the public about the same and falsehoods being spread by unscrupulous criminal elements. We condemn their actions and we are conducting investigations to find those who are involved in such criminal activities.
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“The scammers are using the phone number below +27 843 663 324.”
There have been several reports of Zimbabweans falling victim to scammers who impersonate high-profile people to cheat people of their money.
