A group of men living abroad have been duped out of thousands of dollars by a woman in Zimbabwe who claims to be pregnant after a one-night stand.
The scam, which has been described as the Zimbabwean Pig Butchering Scam (ZPBS), involves the woman using fake baby scans, sham medical bookings, and emotional manipulation to extract money from her victims.
According to entrepreneur Kuda Musasiwa, who has been working with a recent victim, the scam has been running for months, with the woman making 29 transactions using Mukuru since June last year.
The victim, who has been buying the alleged mother of his child an iPhone and a car, has also been sent fake baby scans and has been made to believe that the pregnancy is real.
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Musasiwa has uncovered evidence that suggests the woman is not pregnant, and that the baby scan image she sent to her victim is a fake.
He has revealed that a reverse search of the image returned hundreds of Pinterest and Google images of the same picture.
The scam has also been used to target married men in the diaspora, with the woman threatening to expose their alleged infidelity to their spouses unless they pay up.
Musasiwa has described the scam as “very very dark” and has warned men in the diaspora to be cautious.
He has also revealed a common script used by the scammers, which involves:
Claiming to be in love with the victim
Claiming to be pregnant
Asking for money for a new phone or other items
Threatening to expose the victim’s alleged infidelity to their spouse
Making demands for money for medical treatment or other expenses
Musasiwa is urging men in the diaspora to be aware of this scam and to reach out to him if they find themselves in a similar situation.
