With the year drawing to a close, the Boksburg North police are warning consumers to avoid buying products and goods from ‘backdoor sales’ following a recent crime trend they’ve picked up.
According to Boksburg North SAPS spokesperson Const Justice Ramaube, the station has been inundated with complaints from members of the public who were scammed after being lured to buy their groceries ‘backdoor’.
Ramaube said these incidences happened around local shopping centres and malls in their policing precinct.
“Consumers would be approached at grocery stores such as Pick n Pay and would be told to fill up their trolleys so they can pay less for more groceries items. The criminals would then request money from customers and instruct them to wait while they go and finalise the deal.”
Ramaube said the criminals don’t come back, which results in the victims losing their hard-earned cash and not getting the groceries.
“We are calling for people to refrain from falling victim to crime,” said Ramaube.
Another scam that has been picked up by the police is an online advertisement.
Ramaube cautions potential buyers to be cautious when buying goods online after they received numerous complaints from people who bought ‘non-existent’ vehicles they never see physically after they were advertised through Facebook.
“We are urging the community to make it a point that they visit those businesses before making any transactions.”
Ramaube said if anyone has any suspicions, they are welcome to visit the police station or call them for advice on 011 960 0100, 071 675 6986 or 08600 10111.
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