Irresistible deals are often scams, warns Westville police

Police said almost each day, they receive a report from a person who has been scammed.

WESTVILLE SAPS has urged residents to be wary of scams.

This comes after an increase in reported cases.

The station’s communications officer, Capt Elizabeth Squires advised the public that deals which seem irresistible are often scams.

ALSO READ: Durban councillor’s details used in job scam

“Almost every day, a person comes with a bank statement and a really sad story about a car, motorbike, dog or pyramid scheme they have deposited a lot of money into for the seller/ investor to disappear five seconds after the money has cleared,” she said.

Squires added it is startling that in these economic times, where tons of jobs have been lost, there are people seemingly glad to part with thousands of rands for a product they have not seen physically.

“Fraudsters have a tendency to prowl on people they know are about to go on pension.”

Squires also warned people to not give out their pin number.

ALSO READ: Hawks warn of scam targeting unemployed

“Never give anyone your ID number. The banks informs us daily that they will never ask you for a pin number. An email pops up informing you of some irregularity on your account, the email asks you to follow the link and insert you PIN number to secure control of your account and then your money is drained,” warned Squires.

She also reminded the public that if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).

At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts. Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.