Sinah Makoti Malebana was ripped off of her VW Silver Polo after an online buyer made a false payment through EFT.
Malebana told The Tembisan she was selling her vehicle for R60 000 and she posted it for sale on online site OLX.
“I was contacted by some guy by the name of Chris who said he was interested in buying the vehicle. He came to my place on March 3 and he saw the car. He further said he was going to discuss it with his partner and he came back to me on the following day,” explained Malebana.
Malebana emphasised that the guy negotiated for a discount and she agreed to an amount of R59 000.
“After we made an agreement of the price, he said he did not have an amount with him and he would rather ask someone to do an EFT. I then received a message on my cellphone confirming proof of payment. Before he could take the vehicle, I asked for his ID book and I kept the car papers while I was waiting for the money to reflect in my bank account,” added Malebana.
She said she went to the bank on March 5 for confirmation of the payment and they told her that the money will only reflect in three days.
“To my surprise, I received a phone call from the buyer claiming he was arrested because of the vehicle. When I phoned him back but his phone was off until March 8. He called my partner and he told him he was released, and he would like to meet with us in order to sort out the matter.
“He said he was arrested by Germiston SAPS and he was working at Transnet based in Germiston,” said Malebana.
“He wanted to meet with us in Germiston. I was at work when he wanted to meet with us. I then requested from my superiors to release me, they did. Me and my partner went to Germiston and on arrival we phoned him and he said he was still in a meeting.
“We then asked the security guards to see him and we showed them his identity book he had given us. The company guards said they did not know him in the company. They advised us to call him and tell him to come to the gate. Suddenly, he said he was not coming anymore he would rather come to my boyfriend’s place. My boyfriend told him, ’How are you going make it to my place while you do not know the place?’
“He then hung up the phone,” added Malebana.
Malebana said they went to Germiston SAPS to address the matter and ask if anyone with that identity number had been arrested.
“The police checked and nothing was found relating to the identity book we provided. They then advised us to open a case of fraud at the Tembisa SAPS, which we did on Friday, March 16. The next thing the guy called demanding money from me so that he can return the vehicle.
“He demanded R5 000 and I told him I did not have the money but I can manage R1 000. By then I was still at the police station. He called again and said the R1 000 cash was okay. I then asked him what the assurance of getting my car back was.
“He said he will leave the vehicle at Caprivi and the car keys at Moriting. The police tried to trace his phone calls but it was untraceable. The vehicle registration number is PDF 964 GP,” said Malebana.
Tembisa SAPS communication officer Constable Patricia Mgijima said a case of vehicle theft was registered.
“We are appealing to community members to confirm online sales or markets before they fall for online scams,” added Mgijima.
