'Real cash' international scammers using Facebook arrested in Kuwait

Manama: Two men belonging to an international scam and money laundering network have been arrested in Kuwait. The men, one from South Africa and the other from Nigeria who had been sentenced to 10 years in jail in a different case, were implicated in duping Kuwaiti nationals and foreigners into transferring money ahead of receiving large amounts of cash. A statement issued by the Ministry of Interior said that the network contacted people in Kuwait through social media — mainly Facebook — and built relations with them in order to get more personal details about their potential victims. Afterwards, the fraudsters request assistance in transferring money to Kuwait where they want to settle with the large amounts of money in their possession. The network subsequently dupes the victims into believing they will be receiving a cargo of millions of dollars to Kuwait by showing them fake documents and shipment policy forms filled in by a cargo company. The victims, expecting the cargo, are duped into sending upfront money to the scammers. The ministry’s media department said that another trick used by the international network was to show potential victims stacks of banknote-sized papers.