Robbers and scammers starting to ‘shop’ for Christmas
With just over a month until Christmas, police are preparing for the increase in crime associated with the festive season and want to warn community members about the more prevalent crimes.
TONGA – Although no major crimes were reported in the Tonga policing area over the past week, Capt. Magonseni Nkosi said there were a few cases of water pumps and gate motors being stolen.
As the rural areas of Nkomazi are notorious for their unreliable or lack of water supply, many people have bought water pumps and rely boreholes for a stable supply.
Nkosi urged owners to ensure that these pumps are properly safeguarded.
He also stated that gate motors are being stolen, presumably to create a gap in security to steal a valuable vehicles. Bakkies especially are being targeted by syndicates, smuggled over the border or used to commit other crimes.
READ: Traffic violation tips police off to stolen vehicle
In regards to festive season crime, Nkosi urged stokvels not to keep cash at someone’s home. “You save for 11 months and then one of the people in your stokvel steal your money. Rather have the person in charge of stokvel do electronic transfers,” he said.
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Lastly, he warned about scams which promise people quick or double returns on their money. “There is a scam where people came after you’ve resigned and get your lump sum and say they can double or triple your money. They show you a bag full of money and say that this is what you can receive if you give them your money. When you get home, the bag is full of paper,” Nkosi explained.
He urged people to go the legal route and invest their money with qualified brokers.
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Community members are also still falling victim to email and social media scams. Criminals befriend someone or send them an email, saying they are from out of the country and need help moving money, investing or any number of legitimate-sounding reasons.
They start sending small gifts to win the victim’s trust and then start asking them for money, just to get into the country or for customs fees, etc.
Once the victim deposits the money, the criminal then disappears and their accounts are found to be fake.
READ: Criminals target unemployed locals with job scams
Criminals also use the same trick for job seekers. Job seekers are required to pay a fee to secure the job and once they do, the company or representative disappears.
People are reminded that no institution will require you to pay a fee for a job interview or to secure a job and that all company information should be verified to ensure it is legitimate.
