EcoCash Trades, a bogus investments company, is swindling hundreds of Zimbabweans of their hard-earned cash, lying that potential investors stood to reap huge sums in returns within just an hour of investment, Zim Morning Post has leant.
The WhatsApp platform, of which this Zim Morning Post investigative journalist is a member, was formed in January 2020.
The EcoCash Trade “company” WhatsApp group is administered by two individuals, both with South African cellphone numbers (+27639230333 and +27717249249), offers irresistable deals to would be participants.
Among various cash bargains given, payments to EcoCash Trade of RTGS200 are said to reap a whopping RTGS3 100 or US$100 in return within just an hour of the “investment”.
“Investors” are also told they can actually monitor the performance of their investments via a website provided them at registration, including that they could also withdraw their money online.
“You can also login on our trading chats and mornitor your investments and withdraw straight to your EcoCash account.
“Passwords and logins are generated by our system once a client has invested to reduce fraud of other customers stealing other people’s funds,” EcoCash Trade assures its clients.
“Invest and after one hour exactly you get your returns.
“If you don’t receive an EcoCash message stating that RTGS3 100 has been deposited to yout EcoCash account, go to our portal we send you and make a withdrawal yourself,” the company adds.
According the company, another way through which one would receive their package would be by visiting their website, given to the investor upon registration.
“Alternatively, after investing we add you to a (WhatsApp) group where you chat with other investors on the group.
“While on the group, just type “Payout RTGS3 100″ and shortly, an EcoCash message will pop up with your funds in your account,” EcoCash Trade explains on its WhatsApp platform.
The registration process is also easy.
“Send me your name, surname, amount and EcoCash number,” EcoCash Trade says.
Zim Morning Post spoke to one victim of the fraud, Forget Magaya.
“I fell for the scheme and invested RTGS200, including RTGS50 which was mentioned as service charges.
“After one hour I to the lady who had told me to send the money into one Robin Sauti’s Econet number (+263784054439).
“The next thing is I was blocked from the the WhatsApp group and never heard from the lady again,”
