Man scammed out of R60 000 in Durban North fraud case

Durban North police have warned residents to be extremely wary when purchasing vehicles from people who request deposits. This comes after a man was scammed out of R60 000.

According to Capt Raymond Deokaran, spokesperson for the station, victims are requested to pay a deposit in order to secure a ‘great deal’, only to be left high and dry when it came to handing over the keys to the vehicle.

“In the latest case, the victim spotted a vehicle in an advert online. He was invited to meet the suspect in the uMhlanga Ridge area to view the vehicle, a Corsa bakkie. The victim met with the suspect, inspected the vehicle and said he was willing to buy it.

“The suspect asked for a R60 000 deposit which the victim paid. The suspect also accompanied the man to the licensing department to help ‘complete’ the paperwork. While the victim waited in line, the suspect said he’d forgotten documents in the vehicle, he asked the victim to wait while he fetched the documents, however, he never returned,” Deokaran explained.

According to Durban North police, this was the 17th case of fraud involving the same modus operandi.

“In this case the victim kept allowing people to go ahead of him in the queue before realising a little while later he had been scammed. Most of the time, the suspect/s involved ask to meet in uMhlanga and they’ve targeted people from all the province,” he said.