Online crimes remain a concern to the Primrose police and they are once again warning the community of the dangers.
“We continue to register dockets relating to online scams.
“The most common of which are residents who apply for loans via the internet and are requested to pay a certain administration fee,” said Sgt Styles Maome, communications officer for the Primrose police.
The applicants are then reportedly told to switch off their phones for an hour or two, during which time the criminals allegedly do a sim swap.
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“The sim swap gives them access to the victim’s data and details,” said Maome.
Another scam, which is a concern to police, sees a victim being asked to deposit money into an account via email.
“An example of this was when a complainant, who reported their vehicle stolen, received a call saying the vehicle had been recovered in another province.
“They were asked to pay a fee to speed up the process of having the vehicle released from the pound,” explained Maome.
However, the SAPS does not charge the community for such services.
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“Our community should not deposit any money into an account before verifying with the investigating officer of the case,” warned Maome.
The community is encouraged to report suspicious activity to the police by calling the Primrose Police Station on 011 842 0522 or the patrol vehicles on 071 675 6864/5/6/7/8/9.
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