DIRTY BOGUS H-METRO REPORTERS TERRORISE PEOPLE, DUPE THEM OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN SCAMS . . .

. . .One of the targeted victims is a Member of Parliament . . . Another targeted victim is a young Harare businessman

THERE is an army of con artists who are masquerading as H-Metro journalists and terrorising people, including a legislator, and demanding payments to ensure they don’t publish sensational stories of those targeted individuals.

 

This dirty network appears to be well organised and they are ripping people of their hard-earned cash.

 

Last week, an MP, who represents a Harare constituency, became the latest target of this group.

 

The fake reporter approached the legislator and introduced himself as a member of the H-Metro team of journalists.

 

He claimed that he had explosive details of the MP’s extramarital love affair with an unnamed woman.

 

The fake reporter claimed that the details were so graphic that in the event that they were published, the MP would not only have his name shamed but there would be such a public outcry that he was likely to lose his seat as a parliamentarian.

 

However, the fake reporter told the MP that he would ensure the story would not be published if the legislator paid a certain amount of money.

 

“He said that it would all be settled if I paid US$500,” said the MP, when he reached out to the H-Metro leadership.

 

“That was the moment I realised that something was wrong and this was a way to try and extort me.

 

“He used a private number to call me and this meant that I was unable to try and reach out to him.”

 

H-Metro Editor Robson Sharuko said this was not an isolated case.

 

“There are many bogus H-Metro reporters out there and it appears they have now taken steroids because they have taken their game to a whole new level,” he said.

 

“We keep getting all these stories of people who are saying they were contacted by H-Metro reporters whose names don’t exist among those who are employed by this newspaper.

 

“The stories are similar and they usually involve these bogus reporters claiming they have explosive details of this man or that woman and they want to publish these stories.

 

“Then, when they have pinned their subjects into a corner, they then tell them that the story could be stopped if they pay a certain amount of money.

 

“Sadly, others have fallen into this trap and have been robbed of their money by these people while others have resisted and approached us and we have told them that these are bogus individuals.

 

“For us, what is quite worrying is that our brand name is being tarnished by these people and they are also robbing people of their money.”

 

Four years ago, H-Metro exposed a fake journalist who was going around pretending to be a reporter from this stable and demanding money from people and threatening to expose them in the newspaper.

 

Right now, a woman, who is using the mobile number 0787290489, and calls herself Nancy, has been masquerading as an H-Metro reporter.

 

She has been terrorising a Harare businessman who she claims impregnated his girlfriend and then dumped her.

 

H-Metro has been given some of the chats between Nancy and the businessman.

 

“Good day, my name is Nancy, I work for H-Metro and I just received a story from a trusted source that you got someone pregnant under the pretence that you were not married but you later claimed you were, she also stated that you took off the condom without her knowledge which constitutes as rape and assault under the Zimbabwean law.

 

“She stated she had reached out to you and you kept dismissing her so she didn’t know what to do.

 

“You also allegedly took off the condom while she was unaware, which constitutes as rape and sexual assault, she says this has taken a toll on her physical and mental health.

 

“The story is going to be published on Monday morning, just wanted to get your side of the story before I write anything and it seems she is talking to a lot of blog posts so they might be reaching out to you, so what do you have to say about all this in your defence?”

 

The businessman replied to that message by showing the bogus reporter some chats between him and his girlfriend.

 

She replied: “She showed me the chats, she advised that you blocked her as well and (you) are neglecting her and her child, she asked for a paternity test and you are refusing.

 

“I see someone telling you that they are pregnant and requesting a paternity test, which you’re dodging. I see a woman finding out after she’s pregnant, that the man she thought she could trust is married and you failed to tell her that.

 

“Did you really block her and refuse to take care of the child you both made?”

 

The businessman replied by asking her: “You said you’re from H-Metro?

 

And the bogus reporter replied:

 

“Now, I don’t know if you know this but she does suffer from severe depression, so if anything happens to her or that baby, and she says it’s your negligence and your inability to show up that caused it, no one will care what she said or did.

 

“(What matters is that) you, a grown-up married man, pushed a 23-year-old girl to her death after he got her pregnant and abandoned her and that will ruin everything you have worked for.

 

“Go talk to that girl and make sure you show up for your child because you have no case if she files for child support that will ruin you even further.

 

“I will wait for you to tell me if you want me to write the story or not.

 

She then sent another text to the man’s brother.

 

“I just finished advising your brother on how I can protect him because that story does not look good for him in any shape or form, I will wait on whether he wants me to write it or not after what I just told him.”

 

What Nancy had told the brothers was that the story could be “managed” and it would not be published if they paid her a certain sum of money.

H-metro