“There are individuals who pretend to be police officers, claiming to have recovered the victims’ stolen vehicles. These people make appointments with the victims to meet at the local police station.
“Later they call again and request the victims to deposit an amount of money so that they can tow the vehicle to them,” said Rossouw.
He explained the correct procedure as soon as the police recover the stolen vehicle.
“The police tow the vehicle to the police pound and conduct the necessary investigation. Then the police inform the victim or complainant that the vehicle has been recovered. The victim will be asked to bring in the legitimate documents of the vehicle and to identify it,” said Rossouw.
He said under no circumstances will the victim be asked to pay money for towing the vehicle.
“It is the responsibility of the police to tow the vehicle from the scene where it was recovered to the pound. The victim will then be responsible for fetching their own vehicle after it is lawfully handed over to them by the investigating officer after the investigation has been concluded. There are no financial payments or deposits to be made,” he said.
Rossouw said any victim who happened to be contacted and asked to pay or deposit money must immediately phone the police station or the investigating officer.
