The Westonaria Police have urged the community at large to be more cautious, as people are still being defrauded of their money in big retail stores.
According to Warrant Officer Raymond Sebonyane, the Westonaria Police spokesperson, it has come to light through cases reported at the station that people are being defrauded by unknown suspects when they send money transfers to their loved ones.
Also read: Local falls victim to ATM scam
He said some people are receiving calls from unknown people claiming to be managers at the store in question, and informing them that the person they sent the money to is at the store and struggling to withdraw the money. The caller will then request the PIN code from the sender, allegedly in order to assist the beneficiary, but in fact to steal the money.
There are also instances of people sending money to other provinces, where it is withdrawn by someone other than the original beneficiary. Furthermore, it is alleged that people working in banks call the senders of the money and request them to verify their identity numbers and give them the PIN number they used for cellphone banking, and to press some number on the cellphone. Should the victims do as requested, they find that their cellphones no longer work, and that their money has been transferred to an unknown account.
The Westonaria Police are appealing to the community to make sure that they:
• Do not accept any assistance from strangers;
• Do not reveal their PIN numbers to anyone, not even a bank teller;
• Do not lend their ID books to anyone who tells them they have forgotten to bring their own along, or claims to be a foreigner who cannot be helped because they only have passports, as the community member will end up being the suspect during police investigations;
• Make sure that they send their message to the right person or right cellphone number – double check the number before you send;
• Do not give out their personal details to unknown persons on the phone; and
• Do not lend their bank accounts to anyone, not even their closest relatives.
Sebonyane added, “Keep your personal particulars safe and never disclose your PIN to anyone.”
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