A scammer nearly caused the death of a mobile money vendor in Takoradi after he had been duped of GH¢6,000 in a fake transaction.
The vendor, Mr Emmanuel Dadzie, collapsed when reality dawned on him that what he thought was a profitable business was actually a scam.
But for the timely intervention of the medical team at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, the vendor would have been the subject of a burial ceremony.
Even after he was resuscitated, Mr Dadzie broke into tears, wailing uncontrollably and asking himself how he was going to break the news to his employer.
Fake raffle
Narrating his ordeal to the police, Mr Dadzie said he was at his business centre when a woman, known as Mena Akua, approached him that she had won an MTN raffle of GH¢6,000 and was there to claim her prize.
She, therefore, requested him to transfer GH¢2,000 each to three different MTN numbers.
The woman, he said, told him that somebody wanted to talk to him and, therefore, gave him a mobile phone.
“The person on the mobile phone introduced himself as the Managing Director of MTN and, therefore, he (Dadzie) should transfer the money as directed by the woman,’’ he said.
According to him, the so-called managing director told him that he should transfer the money, else another vendor would be made to do it and reap the profit.
Convinced, Mr Dadzie transferred the money, but with the understanding that the woman would reimburse him with the value of the transfers.
In view of that, he demanded the money from Mena Akua only for her to tell her that she did not have money.
The woman explained that she also received a call that she had won a raffle and was directed to Dadzie to collect her prize.
Mr Dadzie is, therefore, urging the police to hold Mena Akua responsible for the loss.