Police have warned residents about online fraud, after an increase in cases was seen.
One particular incident saw a Linden resident scammed out of R2 500.
Linden Police Station spokesperson Sergeant Takalani Sibiya said the resident saw an advertisement for a container on Facebook and started to communicate with the apparent seller on WhatsApp.
“He was told to send money [to a] Capitec account number. He sent an amount of R2 500 and sent a proof of payment via WhatsApp,” Sibiya explained.
“[The seller] sent an invoice of R11 000 despite the agreement of R9 000 and said the complainant should not worry about the amount on the receipt. [The resident] again sent R2 500 to the same account. The complainant was told that the driver will deliver the container. However, when he tried to call the driver he kept on saying he’s on his way, and the seller was no longer available on the phone.”
At this point, the resident realised it was a scam.
“The Linden police would like to warn the community to be more careful when [purchasing items] online as there is a lot of scamming and fraud happening,” Sibiya concluded.
