THE Hillcrest Police Station has recorded a spike in the number of cases of fraud, in particular those which occur online, and has warned the public to remain vigilant.

The station’s communications officer, Sergeant Nokuphila Mchunu, has warned the community to be cautious of online scams and urged people to pay careful attention to tips shared from banks, the police, or other credible, reliable sources, about how to guard against this kind of fraud.

Mchunu said these cases include a 42-year-old who was scammed of R3800 on Valentine’s Day.

Another case, said Mchunu, involved a 76-year-old victim who was scammed of almost R285 000 after they had invested in a “bogus crypto scam”.

It is alleged that the 76-year-old fell victim to a scam after they came across a social media post about an overseas-based group purporting to be involved in crypto currency.

The victim allegedly then began communicating on the social media platform with an individual who claimed to be a representative of the alleged investment company.

The representative, who posed as a person guiding the victim on how to invest in the company, eventually asked the 76-year-old to deposit an amount of $5000, which they did.

This was followed by a request for another deposit of $10 000 so that the victim would “qualify for a payout”.

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It is further alleged that when the victim asked to make a withdrawal from the “investment”, an additional deposit of $19 995 was requested, which then alarmed the victim.

The last requested deposit was not made by the victim.

Other victims, added Mchunu, make purchases of online goods such as vehicles and even dogs, make the payment, but delivery of the products is not made.

Mchunu said these purchases are also concluded on social media platforms.

“These are mostly cellphone scams or they are done online, and these are things which can be avoided, but it is a lot,” said Mchunu.

Mchunu said other tips shared by the SAPS include:

• Never send money, give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust.
• Never respond to emails or cellphone messages appearing to be from your bank, which request your personal details.
• Never provide your online ID, password or PIN to anyone and never write them down or share them.

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