Pietermaritzburg man kidnapped, robbed by Facebook Marketplace seller

Following a spate of robberies linked to Facebook Marketplace nationally, it seems that copycat criminals are now targeting victims in KZN.

This week, a Pietermaritzburg man wanting to buy a car engine he saw online was kidnapped and robbed by an individual posing as a seller.

According to the Mountain Rise police, the man spotted an engine that was for sale on Facebook and made contact with the seller.

He met the man in Eastwood and then agreed to accompany him to Tamboville, where the car engine was apparently being kept.

When they arrived at the property, the man was attacked, tied with tape and robbed of his belongings, said police spokesperson Warrant Officer Pancheal Singh.

The attackers took the man’s bank card and forced him to reveal the pin, thereafter withdrawing money from his account.

“Two suspects guarded the complainant while one left and later returned. The victim managed to convince the suspects to let him free which they did and threatened to find and kill him if he went to the police,” said Pancheal.

However, the man was determined to bring the perpetrators to justice and the case was reported.

Crime intelligence officers with units from Mountain Rise Police Station, the K9 Unit and local security company RZS Protection tracked down the suspects in Tamboville and arrested them yesterday.

A case of kidnapping and robbery has been registered at Mountain Rise Police Station, and Singh said investigations are ongoing to further link the robbers to other cases.

Other similar scams

The emergence of the crime trend in KZN follows a growing trend of such cases nationally.

Recently, two men from Randfontein on the West Rand had a narrow escape after being held hostage and assaulted during a robbery after using Facebook Marketplace.

The dramatic attack played out in Winterveld, Pretoria, in a series of events that mirrored the murder of Pretoria Rugby Club’s former chairperson Jaco Basson, on November 12.

According to Pretoria Rekord, Basson was killed when he responded to a Facebook Marketplace advertisement about the sale of a bakkie.

In October, another victim, Johan Pieterse, nearly suffered the same fate when he responded to a Facebook advert for a ‘well-priced’ Nissan bakkie and went to view it in Modise Stand, Winterveld.

However, when he arrived at the location, he was assaulted and robbed of R34 000, News24 reported.

Tips to stay safe

An article on All About Cookies, an expert online safety website, gives tips on how to know if someone is scamming you on Facebook:

• New profile: Be on the lookout for brand-new profiles with few or no profile pictures, as these are signs of dummy accounts commonly used to scam people.
• Deals that are too good to be true: Proceed cautiously with deals that seem too good to be true and buyers or sellers who pressure you to act quickly on a transaction.
• Asking for personal info: Beware of people who ask for personal information from you, and never click any links sent to you, as these can contain malware.
• Fake listing images: Scrutinise listing images as scammers will use stock photos or images off the internet to list an item that either doesn’t exist or is in poor condition.
• Overpayment or odd payment methods: Strict requests for strange payment methods — such as by gift card — and buyers who insist on overpaying or do so ‘accidentally’ are red flags.