Police management in the province would like to urge unsuspecting members of the community to exercise caution when responding to online advertisements as criminals are coming up with tricks to scam citizens.
The warning stems from numerous social media and other online advertisement scams. An example of such social media fraud, in Potchefstroom on Saturday, 15 April 2023, a victim saw an advertisement for a sale of Toyota Quantum on Facebook. He made contact with the seller who purported to be the lawful owner.
A meeting was arranged in Tswelelang Location, Wolmaransstad where the prospective buyer took the vehicle for a test drive. An agreement was subsequently reached and the victim drove with the owner to collect necessary documents and in the process, they allegedly offered hitchhikers a lift. However, the said hitchhikers robbed the potential buyer of his cell phone and forced him out of the vehicle.
The public is therefore urged to be vigilant of social media and online advertisements. Should they become suspicious, they are advised to contact the nearest police station. Prospective buyers are requested to buy from reputable and registered car dealers, and not to carry large amounts of cash nor pay money in cash during transactions. The purchases should only be made at a bank.
Most fraudsters manage to snare potential buyers with prices that are ridiculously cheap, unfortunately this tactic is successful as most victims through caution to the wind when faced with a bargain. All other online purchases should only be performed using South Africa’s largest reputable online shopping sites.
There are many well designed legitimate looking shopping websites that are fake. One precaution is to find the contact details on these websites, a physical address and a land line are normally absent on fake sites. Fake operators normally come up with excuses when you ask if you can visit their work address and physically view the items for sale.
