According to the South African Police Service, cases of scams and car thefts increase
A wave of car scams and car thefts is striking hard in South Africa.
When the Covid-19 Pandemic started almost two years ago, crime saw one of its lowest rates almost everywhere in the world. However, it gave way to another type of crime: scams, especially car theft.
A wave of car scams and car thefts is striking hard in South Africa. The media and cellphone numbers are the main media through which these scams are being perpetuated, not only to offer non-existent new cars or insurance services.
The head of the Mpumalanga South African Police Service has recently issued statements urging the population to be more cautious when seeking new cars or services related to car insurance. These fraudulent organizations mainly operate through social media, offering incredibly low prices for new cars or pretending to be your insurance company. In November 2021, for instance, two brothers were apprehended by the South African Police Service for fraud.
For this reason, it is important that the population remains vigilant while navigating the different social media and always researching if what is being advertised is real to avoid scams.
A few tips to identifying new car scams
Although there might be hundreds of people attempting fraud in South Africa, they usually use the same modus operandi. Generally, these individuals use social media to advertise the sale of new cars at prices that are below the market value. This should be the first red flag for you: car prices are closely similar among car dealerships. So, if someone is offering you a car for a much lower price, you should become suspicious.
Also, fraudsters make it really difficult for you to contact them. They use free e-mail accounts that are impossible to trace back, or the phone number they provide you with turns out to be unreachable. Furthermore, they make use of the urgency of the offer: “if you do not buy the car now, you will lose this amazing opportunity.” They might ask you to transfer your money to an account number as soon as possible for you to access “this amazing discount.”
The pictures you will find on their social media are used by most of these fraudsters. If you run an image search, you might find it in many portals and on different social media accounts.
Beware of car thefts
Car insurance companies have been warning policyholders about a new method of car stealing scams in South Africa. Scammers pretend to be employees of car tracking companies and phone the owners, telling them they need to change or fix the tracking devices installed in their cars. Once you tell them where you are, they will start making excuses, and they will inform you that they cannot perform the fixes there and that they need to take your car to their headquarters. Of course, you never hear from them again.
Car tracking companies advise their clients that if they receive this kind of phone call, they should ask verification questions. And if they are still not satisfied, they urge them to contact their car tracking company to verify the identities of the callers.
Similar scams might be perpetuated when it comes to other car-related services. For this reason, it is important that we learn to identify these red flags and to only trust reputable car dealerships and car insurance companies. Identity fraud cases have also been reported in South Africa, making it more and more necessary for us to be on the lookout. It might sound a bit frustrating having to deal with all this on top of our everyday problems, but it might save you from scammers.
When buying car insurance services, for instance, it is also essential to check the trustworthiness of the car insurance company. Not only to avoid having your car stolen, but also to have insurance that covers you in the event of any contingency. You should run a check on the company, verify if they are duly registered in South Africa, if they have offices where you can pay them and a visit, and, also, if you know people who have already bought their insurance with them.
Car insurance premiums that are much lower than the average premium prices of the insurance market should also make you distrust an insurance company. There might be some differences, but costs for these services should be maintained through all companies. A car insurance company might offer other benefits for you to choose them, such as reward points or discounts for driving your car less, for instance, but offering lower insurance premiums might be a sign of alarm.
If you encounter this kind of advertisement on social media or if you are approached by individuals under false pretences, you should contact the appropriate authorities immediately. Stopping these fraudsters is in all our interest, and we should all help. And if you are in doubt, the same: check, double-check, and check again; you can never be too cautious.
