Man used MXit to rob women
2009-05-07 08:20
Pretoria - A man who used MXit to befriend women and then swindled and robbed them, was arrested in Sinoville, Pretoria, on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old Pietermaritzburg man had been swindling unsuspecting people using the social networking service since 2005, according to police spokesperson Mirna von Benecke.
More than 50 charges of fraud, which are now being investigated, have been laid against the man.
"He meets women in chat rooms on MXit. Then he befriends the single women. During the relationship, he would use the woman's credit card to buy valuable items such as a laptop or a cellphone.
"At a certain stage the man would just start to avoid the woman."
Amount of R69 000 involved
Von Benecke could not confirm the number of women who have been swindled in this way, but she did say that an amount of over R69 000 is involved.
The police's commercial division in Pietermaritzburg tracked down the man's cellphone records, the spokesperson said.
They then informed the Sinoville police station that he was in that area.
A woman who went out with the man on two or three occasions helped the police to capture him.
He will be taken to Pietermaritzburg on Thursday, where he will appear in the magistrate's court.
