Online scam pays off for fraudsters
Fraudulent adverts are placed by thieves posing as sellers, often involving a hoax vehicle at a bargain price.
Brakpan police have warned residents to be careful when responding to advertisements on online classified sites.
This follows an increase in the number of incidents reported to police, where residents have been scammed out of large sums of money for hoax motor vehicles.
Fraudulent adverts are placed by thieves posing as sellers, often involving a hoax vehicle at a bargain price.
“We have opened various fraud cases relating to false adverts of motor vehicles for sale,” said Capt Pearl van Staad, spokesperson for the Brakpan SAPS.
“After responding to the advert, the victim is persuaded to deposit a huge amount of money to secure the advertised motor vehicle.
“There is, however, no car.”
Van Staad told the Herald that the addresses of legitimate local car dealers are being used by the fraudsters.
“From the statements provided by the victims, it’s been detected that Voortrekker Road, Prince George Avenue and Station Road are popular addresses used by the perpetrators,” she said.
“Further investigations reveal that the street numbers provided don’t exist or that the car dealer has no knowledge of the car on sale or there is no such vehicle for sale at that dealership.
“The community is advised to visit the garage or dealership selling the motor vehicle and view the car in person before paying over any money.”
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