The police warn vehicle owners who are trying to sell their vehicles privately on social media to be careful of fraudulent buyers.
Several cases has been reported were vehicle owners would advertise a vehicle for sale on social medias and an interested individual would contact the seller and arrange for a test drive of the vehicle. After the test drive is complete the potential buyer would inform the seller that he is willing to buy the vehicle and the owner should give him bank details so that the money can be transferred electronically.
The money is then transferred to the sellers bank account, the seller will receive an sms from the bank confirming this, then the seller will hand over the vehicle to the buyer.
A few minutes after the buyer has left with the vehicle and the vehicle registration papers, the seller will receive an sms from the bank notifying him of the reversal of the payment. At this stage it is too late to stop the buyer as he has already driven away with the vehicle.
The police warn vehicle owners not to hand over the vehicle before they are sure that the amount is in their bank account and cannot be reversed by the person who deposited the money.
They can also request a copy of an identification document as well as proof of residence from the seller so that the person can be traceable.