POLOKWANE – A local businesswoman, Cecilia Pilusa from Bendor, recently became the victim of a car theft scam in which another woman purporting to have made a payment in lieu of the vehicle, drove off with Pilusa’s car and has not been seen since.
Pilusa has since opened a case of vehicle theft with the Polokwane police and called on anyone with information to report it to the nearest police station.
Pilusa said she advertised her white Discovery 3 for sale on an internet site. Last Sunday a woman who went by the surname Setai, from Nkowankowa, Tzaneen, contacted and last Tuesday the woman came to see the car and test drive it.
“She was happy with the car and promised to transfer R125 000 into my account immediately, whereafter she wanted to take the car with her back to Tzaneen as she was in a rush. She said she would come back at a later date to change ownership. I received an SMS to say the money had been paid into my account. I did not bother to check the balance and let her leave with my car,” Pilusa explained.
Pilusa further said later on the same day, she went to the Polokwane police station for an affidavit confirming the sale, just in case it was needed.
“For some reason, I felt sick when I got to the police station. Something in the back of my head told me to check my bank balance and that’s when I got the shock of my life,” Pilusa said.
There was no money in her account and only then it dawned on her she had been conned.
She tried to get hold of the woman but her phone rang unanswered.
“I immediately opened a case of theft so that the police can help me find my car and bring the perpetrator to book. I am usually very cautious, I really don’t know why I trusted the woman so much. I have heard about such scams. Now I am a victim of one of them.”
Review attempted to contact the woman but her cell phone remained unanswered.
Polokwane police station spokesperson, Capt Ntobeng Phala confirmed that a case of theft was opened and investigations are underway. “The charge will be changed to fraud as the victim handed the vehicle over to the perpetrator, while she was falsely made to believe a payment had been made,” Phala explained.
He added that people should be very careful when doing transactions such as these and rather opt for a cash on delivery sale to be safe.
