On March 11, 2023, a teenager of about 18 years old, using his Facebook page, advertised a job and a 24-year old woman showed interest before she was taken through a rigorous interview online before inviting him for an extended meeting to agree on terms and conditions.
The woman, according to police, moved from Kireka in Kampala district to their agreed location of meeting in Ntunda village, Ntunda Parish in Mukono district, where he turned against her in a busy area and raped her.
This is just one of the many victims of the teenage-boy scam.
Ashraf Lubega, 18, a resident of Katosi village, Kisoga sub county in Mukono district has for the last one year or so been luring female job seekers in their dozens through a fake identity on Face book with aim of having sex with them and most of the cases have turned out to be rape.
“The suspect, created an online Medical job page, called Medical Scrub Uganda, where he called himself Dr. Ronnie, and lured female applicants or job seekers, who are in need of the jobs. The suspect who had no permanent place of abode, mainly operated in the areas of Mukono and Kayunga. Where he executed his acts of sexual violence,” the police say in their statement. Police say they have tracked tracked him down using the Crime Intelligence and Flying Squad teams and arrested him last week.
“During our interrogation, the suspect admitted to having lured, robbed and raped many unsuspecting members of the public, with medical backgrounds, as a result of the Facebook page scam. Our cyber crime unit, at CID headquarters is conducting expansive investigations, to establish whether there are other members of the criminal sexual network,” the police said.
Mr Fred Enanga the police spokesperson said that, “We would like to warn young girls and female to be extra cautious, when transacting business or searching for jobs on digital or social media platforms. Job seekers are particularly vulnerable to online job scammers, who create websites. It is therefore, important to research the employer online, before applying for a job, avoid lone meetings with the strangers, never send money to anyone you meet online. It is also crucial to confirm the employer identity with an in-person interview or a video call. Once again, we urge job seekers NOT to accept a job solely through email, over the phone or via a chat app.”
