POLOKWANE – Upon investigation and talking to an anonymous source, it was revealed to Review that the stolen identity books are being used to sell stolen items or in other sales scams which can include sale and rental of houses, and cars to electrical appliances.
“In some of the scams, the identity book is used to claim the ID book holder is the real owner of an item they are attempting to sell. Often these items they are trying to sell are stolen during house robberies.”
Polokwane Police Spokesperson, Capt Ntobeng Phala, urges residents to report stolen identity books immediately to their nearest police station.
“We urge anyone with information on the syndicates and scams to report such information to their nearest police station. With the information gathered, police will then be able to make more arrests and take these criminals off the streets,” he said.
Phala warns residents not to buy or rent anything if they are not sure who the owner is and to rather make use of known product sellers and rental agencies.
“The problem with most of these cases is that people are fooled to believe they are getting a bargain they will not be able to find anywhere else. It is the modus operandi of these criminals to dupe people into buying something that often doesn’t even exist.”
