KwaThema – The police are sending a stern warning to owners of stolen or hijacked vehicles not to pay any money to recover them from men who call themselves police officers, but are fake.
KwaThema police spokesman, Captain Thabo Sibuyi, says they have been receiving complaints from community members about people who called them and introduced themselves as police officials from the vehicle unit.
“They have been attempting to make a quick buck by trapping victims to pay them.
“These unknown people have been calling the station’s charge office, claiming to be from the province and asking for information of the owners whose vehicles have been stolen.
“The fake cops request for the names and phone numbers of the victims, then call them,” he says.
Sibuyi says the suspects make claims to have found the vehicle at a false location.
“They then instruct that the owner of the vehicle deposit a certain amount through shops where money can be transferred but cannot be traced back to them, example through the money market, to get the vehicle back.
“It is therefore important to know that police cannot and will not ask you for money if your vehicle is found as it is their job to find the vehicle,” he says.
Sibuyi adds that over the last week, this trend has been noticed in some parts of the Ekurhuleni East Cluster.
“If you as the owner of the stolen vehicle are suspicious of any misconduct, or received such a call, contact your nearest police station to speak to your investigating officer or the charge office or just ignore the call,” he says.
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