By 
By Delisa Thwala
To date, the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) statistics show that a total of 360 Facata cases have been reported to the Police with a total value of over E 3 million.
A total of 31 suspects have been arrested for this and 45 cases were successfully proven and completed before the Court.
This comprehensive breakdown was given by the REPS National Commissioner Manoma Vusie Masango.
RELATED:Facata suspect: unemployment landed me in this ‘ditch’
He spoke during the International Fraud Awareness Week Launch on Thursday at the Royal Villas Hotel in Ezulwini.
The scams popularly known as ‘Facata’ scams have seen members of the public lose their monies to criminals who call and tell Mobile Money users or bank account holders to approve transactions unknowingly.
In their illegal activity, the scammers call the unsuspecting person under the pretence that they are either MTN or bank employees or police officers under the cybercrime unit who will assist them as victims as their cell phone had been hacked and attacked with a virus.
The would-be victim is then requested to transfer any monies in their accounts through their banking app or MoMo into a purported suspense account, which is a string of numbers that are in fact a disguised cell phone number.
The Commissioner revealed that Hhohho region there were 81 cases valued at E1, 189, 405.17, while in the Manzini region 95 cases valued at E668, 331.82 were recorded and in the Lubombo region 92 cases valued at E401, 176.00.
RELATED:Over 1000 suspicious transactions recorded
“In the Shiselweni region 92 cases valued at E753, 278.78. This brings the total to 360 cases valued at E3, 012, 121.77,” reported the Commissioner.
