A Midrand man has been scammed for R10 000 by a Facebook fraudster and was immediately blocked after paying the amount.
The victim from Kaalfontein, in Midrand becomes the latest person to fall prey to fraudsters after he responded to a Facebook post about a car being on sale.
However, the vehicle believed to be on ‘sale’ did not even exist according to the Ivory Park police spokesperson, Captain Benard ‘Ben’ Matimulane.
Matimulane said the police would like to urge residents to exercise vigilance when responding to online advertisements for sale items.
He said a case of fraud has been opened at the Ivory Park police and investigations into the incident will commence in due course.
“The two men chatted on Facebook and eventually, the victim paid R10 000 into an account and that was the last time he heard from the scammer,” said Matimulane.
“The ‘seller’ and the advertisement were removed from the social media platform and the victim was subsequently blocked by the fraudster. A case of fraud has been opened at the Ivory Park police and investigations into the incident will start.”
Matimulane urged potential buyers are urged to thoroughly check and verify if the items in question are genuine.
He said online shoppers also needed to check if the items they intend to buy are in the condition and that the paperwork is in order, more especially for the cars.
All of these should be done before money is paid into any account for any person to avoid being scammed.
Station commander of the Ivory Park Police Station, Brigadier David Mbongeni Ngcobo said, “Any buyer, especially buying from social media platforms, should do all reasonable research and checks possible to avoid financial losses. Talk to other people. People tend to be secretive about their online activities only to tell you after the fact. By then the proverbial horse has bolted.”
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