Man loses out R188 400 over Avoca property scam
The victim was duped into depositing a large sum of money for a vacant site.
DURBAN North SAPS has warned prospective property buyers to screen potential sellers.
This comes after a Durban North man was defrauded out of a large sum of money, for a vacant site in Avoca.
According to Captain Raymond Deokaran, spokesperson for the Durban North police station, the victim had deposited the money after the suspect drew up a false title deed for the land.
“The victim spotted an online ad saying there was vacant plot of land in Avoca and contacted the ‘seller’. The site was allegedly 783 square metres and the victim even visited the site to confirm it was legitimate. During the course of price negotiations, the suspect in this case allegedly involved a lawyer to help draw up an offer to purchase agreement.
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“Through negotiations the suspect asked the victim to deposit R188 400 into his account. However, the buyer soon realised he had been duped and attempted to contact the seller. He has since opened a case of fraud. We are advising residents to carefully screen anybody claiming to sell property or plots of land. In this case the plot of land legitimately existed but we suspect the person posing as the seller didn’t own the land or vacant site,” he said.
Deokaran added that residents should work with a reputable agency that is accredited to the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB).
“Make sure you do your due diligence. If there are attorneys involved like in this case, make sure they are legitimate. Quite often if something is too good to be true it probably is,” he said.
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