Resident defrauded by fake police officials –
Residents are being advised by local police to take extra care and to be extremely cautious with their money. Lizzy Arumugam, from the Newcastle SAPS Corporate Communications office, said there were increasing reports of victims being cheated out of their hard-earned money.
According to Arumugam, members of the Newcastle Detectives are looking into a case of fraud which in mid-March, at a centre in the CBD. The complainant was reportedly out walking when a group of men, dressed as police officials, approached him.
They demanded his identification book, and took down his name and ID number. His bank card was also taken from the ID book by the suspects.”
The next day, added Arumugam, the complainant received a text message about a withdrawal of R1400 from his account.
She advised that if approached by a police official, residents should ask that they produce their identification card first. Arumugam also warned against giving anyone ID numbers, pin codes or bank cards.
Another case of fraud was reported to Newcastle SAPS on April 9, concerning an ATM in the CBD. According to Arumugam, the complainant told police that he went to withdraw cash when he was approached by a person, who informed him the ATMs were being updated.
The suspect then claimed the victim would need to have his card scanned.
After that, the suspect seized the complainant’s identification card. The complainant received an SMS a few minutes later stating that a sum of R7400 had been removed from his account.”
Arumugam added that members of the public were also being duped into depositing large sums of money into deals that were later discovered to be fraudulent.
She cautioned about the possibility of criminals using fake social media posts to lure in victims.
Vulnerable victims then engage in some form of communication with these faceless sellers, who persuade them to make an urgent cash deposit. This is done either via EFT or deposit at the bank, before the required items were delivered.”
With numerous cases reported where suspects would then vanish into thin air without fulfilling the promise, Arumugam said it was worrying that these trends continued to occur. She urged residents to only deal through reputable businesses, stores and dealerships.
Residents should also conduct proper research, rather than relying on potentially misleading social media advertisements.
The general public should also be wary of quickly depositing or transferring cash to unknown people, without proper verification,” concluded Arumugam.
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