eMalahleni residents have been left stunned after five separate fraud cases drained victims of a combined R700 000 in less than a week, exposing a surge in scams ranging from impersonation to online shopping cons and corporate deceit.

Witbank News reports that these incidents, occurring between May 23 and 26, involved victims being targeted through fake companies, spoofed bank officials, and fraudulent online sellers.

In the first incident, a woman discovered that her personal documents had been unlawfully used by a company to lodge fraudulent claims, leaving her with debt linked to transactions she never approved.

In a second case, a resident paid for machinery advertised online, only for the seller to disappear without delivering the goods.

A third victim was duped by a fraudster posing as a bank official and instructed to ‘transfer’ funds under the guise of account upgrades, after which the money vanished.

In another incident, a victim only became aware of unauthorised activity after spotting fraudulent transactions on their banking app, by which time the funds had already been syphoned off.

In the final case, a supplier accepted payment for goods that were never delivered. Investigations revealed the company had already been deregistered the previous year, making recovery unlikely.

SAPS local spokesperson Warrant Officer David Ratau urged residents to stay alert and verify all financial requests and company details before making payments.

He warned against clicking on unsolicited links or trusting unexpected calls claiming to be from banks.

“People must not just click on links sent to them. If something looks suspicious or too good to be true, avoid it. Always go directly to your bank to verify any request. There are criminals impersonating bank officials. If you order online, do not follow random links requesting personal details such as ID numbers,” Ratau said.

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