Labasa couple charged for allegedly dishonestly obtaining $730 through deception

A Labasa couple has been arrested and charged by the Fiji Police Force M-PAiSA Taskforce for allegedly dishonestly obtaining $730 through deception.

Police say it is alleged that the 30-year-old businessman of Delailabasa and his 27-year-old wife dishonestly obtained $730 from four victims through the M-PAiSA platform.

They say the alleged incidents occurred between September 2023 and December 2024.

Police say the couple have been charged with four counts of unauthorised access, four counts of identity theft, four counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of proceeds of crime.

Police investigations reveal that the couple were calling prominent individuals, intentionally logging into their Viber accounts, and pretending to be police officers.

They informed the victims that their numbers were being monitored and requested the international phone number that had called them.

The couple allegedly requested the Viber activation code linked to an international number, accessed the Viber accounts of prominent individuals, and called vulnerable people in their contact lists to ask for money.

The matter was subsequently reported at the Totogo Police Station.

They will appear in the Labasa Magistrates Court today.