#HelloDarlings: A holiday scam that allegedly swindled more than R100m from trusting South Africans

Getting to travel to different places is certainly a part of life that we look forward to. Traveling is that one buffer to the soul, the one that feeds you in ways that go far beyond the physical. 

So it's only natural that people would jump onto an opportunity to be part of a travel time share holiday programme, something that offers you great discounts to destinations all around the world. 

Read more: Vic Naidoo shares his top travel bag must-haves this holiday season

A businesswoman, who was CEO of a company called Hello Darlings, has allegedly scammed several South Africans out of their money. 

"A group, which was formed on social media site Telegram and has close to 2 000 members, has been trying to bring the fraudster to justice and get the money back. The information posted on the group indicates that each family or person lost an average of R75 000." (IOL)

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Check out a personal perspective from one of the people who was involved in the Hello Darlings scam. 

From the way it looks, the Hello Darlings CEO (allegedly known as Tazz Moosa) has gotten away with a total of around R100-million from these trusting South Africans. The Telegram group of almost 2,000 members has been trying to locate the fraudster, but it is believed that she may have fled the country. 

Suhaifa Naidoo, a Digital Marketing Strategist, who shared her story above, shared her realist response about the situation. In addition to the below, she also added that people "making distasteful memes" should stop, as this was no ordinary scam. 

It was well thought out and well executed. She made special mention to families who have lost their savings and that mental health issues are at an all time high.

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There is a process in place for those that have lost their money with the Hello Darlings scam. 

"If you have booked a holiday with Hello Darlings and have not heard from the company about your booking, you can join the Telegram group and fill out a form detailing the amount you lost. The form requires you to have a police case number. Victims are also urged to report the matter to their bank. Both the bank and police require you to have the proof of payment made to Hello Darlings, with the respective bank account numbers involved." (IOL)

With no shortage of scam artists and swindlers, now more than ever, we have to be super careful about who we trust with our money. Ashraf Garda will be hosting a chat this afternoon at 16h30 to help the victims. If you are keen on joining, check out the information below. 

Wendy Knowler chatted about the red flags associated with spotting a scam company. Take a listen below. 

Image Courtesy of Unsplash Website