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South Africans will now need to be vigilant and report any suspicious calls to the police, as a new scam is circulating.
This follows a warning from the Commissioner of the South African Police Service (Saps) in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, about a scam in which victims receive calls from perpetrators claiming they have been paid to kill them and demanding money to save their lives.
According to Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, the latest incident involves three public servants who were contacted by the perpetrators, who claimed to have been hired to kill them.
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Police investigations revealed that this scam is aimed at soliciting money from unsuspecting citizens.
In some cases, individuals fake their own kidnappings and call their families to demand ransom for their freedom.
Earlier this year, the Western Cape Multi-disciplinary Kidnapping Task Team arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly staging his own kidnapping.
According to Captain Frederick van Wyk, on 2 January, a foreign national reported that his brother had been kidnapped after receiving a message from an anonymous cell number.
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The man had left his home in Philippi East for work, leaving his brother, who was supposed to deposit rent money at Shoprite for their residence.
It is alleged that the man’s cellphone was off the entire day and was turned on only around 6 pm when he found a message claiming that his brother had been kidnapped.
The apparent kidnappers demanded “between R4,000 and R5,000” for his safe return.
“They also said they had taken the money and the cellphone of the captive and that they were in the Khayelitsha area,” said Captain Van Wyk.
Later that day, the man’s wife also received a message from a different number demanding ransom.
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As the day progressed, the ransom demand increased to R15,000. The family decided to pay the R15,000 ransom via e-wallet on 9 January, and the brother was ‘released’ the following day.
However, upon reaching home, the brother allegedly admitted that he and a friend had staged the kidnapping to extort money from his family.
He had also used the rent money for gambling.
