The Ivory Park SAPS warns the community about online fraud when responding to online adverts and purchases.
The Ivory Park SAPS would like to, once more, warn the public against the dangers of responding to online advertisements and committing their hard-earned money to strangers without having conducted a thorough background check on the dealers and sellers.
This comes after an Ivory Park woman became the latest person to get defrauded with a huge amount of money after she responded to someone purporting to be selling vehicles. The victim, like others before her, decided to deposit the money into someone’s account without having seen the real vehicles, or let alone having satisfied herself that the dealership cited in the advertisement existed.
Capt Bernard Matimulane, the Ivory Park SAPS communications officer, said the woman deposited a total of R37 000 in two transactions for two vehicles which were fraudulently on sale.
“Upon depositing the money she was told that the drivers are on the way to deliver the vehicles; two sedans. This she did without having checked whether the vehicles existed, whether the dealership and physical addresses existed and she only deposited the money without confirming with the financial institution as to the ownership of the account,” said Matimulane.
“Shortly afterwards the seller blocked her after she constantly called him wanting to know about the arrival of the vehicles, presumably because the fraudster is already in possession of the money.
“A case of fraud has been opened and registered at the Ivory Park SAPS and the police are investigating,” said Matimulane.
Brig David Mbongeni Ngcobo, the station commander of the Ivory Park SAPS, said to avoid falling victim to fraud, it is best for any buyer to satisfy themselves that the said item exists, it is in the condition the advert claims, that the institution mentioned exists and that the bank account given are those of the institution mentioned.
“Some of the tell-tale signs that fraud may be a possibility are the absence of a telephone number (only cellphone). It is also very easy to open an email account and the tendency by the seller to demand money even before the potential buyer has seen the items is another red flag. But, most importantly, it is always safer to visit the physical address and check if the advertisement corresponds with the items mentioned,” said Ngcobo.
Any information relating to crime please call 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line at 32211.
