According to Florida police station commander Colonel Cassie Rautenbach the station is daily opening new cases whereby the public has been defrauded.
The scamsters prey on the victims gullibility and often their ignorance. Rautenbach has the following advice on what the current favourite scams are and how you can avoid being defrauded.
• If you have not entered a competition you will not be a winner.
As obvious as this may seem many people’s excitement at the idea that they might have won a big prize still often overrides their common sense. Dikolomela says a person should not respond to any form of communication via emails, sms’s or Whatsapp informing the person they have won a competition and need to contact a number to claim their prize. Companies running competitions in most cases stipulate in the rules that the winner will be contacted telephonically. Companies also do not ask those who have entered to transfer or deposit cash in order to claim their prize.
• If you need a new drivers licence there is no shortcut.
Both the record and Florida police station get inundated with complaints from people who say they have been scammed at the licensing station. Do not trust any person loitering at the traffic department’s licensing station. They will run away with your documents and your money and also possibly a copy of your ID book which can lead to even more fraud.
• Do not trust emails stating that a company you deal with has changed their banking details and therefor all future deposits have to be made into the “new” account.
Make sure to confirm the authenticity of the suppliers details before transferring any money into the new account. Also ask for three months bank statements or an alternative method of payment. Also phone or visit the company and verify their banking details.
• False EFT payments are also becoming popular amongst criminals.
If a buyer pay by means of an EFT payment you should first allow enough time for the money to be cleared and reflect as a credit on your statement before releasing any goods to the buyer. Do not accept a printout from a computer system since these are easily forged with programs such as CoralDRAW.
• Be careful when purchasing online.
Be very cautious when entering your personal particulars and avoid ever entering your baking details. Fraudsters know how to hack into computer systems and can get access to all your personal information as well as your banking details. This can happen especially when you want to pay via a debit order.
• There are no guarantees when purchasing electronic equipment on the street.
Chances also are that it might be stolen goods. The well know saying ‘cheap buying is expensive buying’ applies. Rather purchase electronic equipment from a reputable dealer as you will get a guarantee or at least a warranty to give you peace of mind that in the case of the goods being faulty it can be refunded or replaced.
