AT recent community engagements between management of the Durban North police station and residents, online scams continued to crop up as one of the most common ways residents were being defrauded.

In recent months, the station has recorded more than 25 cases of vishing, phishing and scams involving online purchases, be it for a vehicle, puppy or other items.

Spokesperson for the police station, Sergeant Nonhlanhla Shozi, touched on a recent case in which a woman lost R14 000 in an online rental property scam.

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“In this case a lady saw an advert for a home to rent in the area on a property website. She then contacted the agent listed for the property and spoke to a man by the name of ‘Freddy’. He stated the rent for the property was R7000 a month and if she wanted to secure the property she’d need to pay a deposit of R14 000, which she did. When she arrived to view the property she realised it was not up for rent and when she tried to contact the agent, he did not answer and his phone had been switched off,” she said.

“This is just one of several cases recorded at the station where people have deposited money without seeing the product. Our investigations revealed that the majority of victims deposit a large sum of cash and buy an advertised item that has been published on social media platforms, only to discover that the seller does not exist. We are urging residents not to deposit money to individuals or companies without verifying their legitimacy. If the agent in this case belonged to a particular property company, then call the company and verify that the person actually works there,” she said.

Meanwhile as the Easter holidays approach, the eThekwini Municipality has warned tourists to be extra vigilant when booking accommodation and not fall victim to online scammers.

The warning comes after tourists from Mpumalanga and Gauteng Provinces were scammed and left stranded after falling prey to criminals.

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“Scammers have also taken advantage of this growth by creating fake websites, social media pages, and holiday packages that appear legitimate,” said eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana. “Some of the common scams include fake accommodation listings on online platforms offering non-existent or unavailable accommodation.

“There are also phishing scams in the form of emails or messages, requesting payment or personal information under the guise of confirming bookings or itineraries. Tourists are urged to verify travel bookings by using reputable booking platforms. Holidaymakers can also verify accommodation establishments by contacting Durban Tourism,” she said.

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