Five men will appear in court for allegedly obtaining over $4600 by deception, in separate cases in Labasa, Ba and Nadi.

The five have been charged by the Fiji Police MPAiSA Task Force.

In the first case a 32-year-old man from Bulileka in Labasa, allegedly obtained $230 from the victim after sending a Viber message purporting to be from a close friend on 15th March.

The accused allegedly hacked the friend’s Viber account and sent a message requesting the money for urgent needs.

In the second case, a 26-year-old man from Siberia in Labasa is alleged to have obtained $80 from the victim who had sent the money for goods on sale posted on Facebook by the accused.

Both men will be produced at the Labasa Magistrates Court today.

Another two men will be produced at the Ba Magistrates Court today, charged with similar offences.

A 27-year-old man residing in Rarawai, Ba allegedly obtained $2,847 from the victim via an online scam in December last year.

The victim had allegedly clicked on an investment link on Facebook, where it stated he had to deposit the said amount.

Police say the victim did so on two occasions thinking it was an investment opportunity, however when he failed to receive any feedback, following which the matter was reported to police.

The accused will be produced at the Ba Magistrates Court today.

A 37-year-old man residing in Tauvegavega is alleged to have dishonestly obtained $170 from the victim for a taxi permit on the 7th February last year.

The investigation revealed that the victim had received a call regarding the approval of his taxi permit application, whereby the said amount was sent.

When the victim failed to receive any word on his permit, the matter was reported to Police.

In another case, a 49-year-old man residing in Navo in Nadi is alleged to have obtained $286 from the victim in 2021.

The accused and a friend had allegedly told the victim they could secure employment and asked that the said amount be sent.

After receiving the money, the accused cut off all communication and the matter was then reported at the Labasa Police Station.

All five men have been charged with one count of obtaining financial advantage by deception.