While South Africans were still barred from leaving their houses because of Covid-19 restriction imposed by the government, online shopping became the most prevalent way to render services or purchase goods.
Because scammers never sleep, most took advantage of the increased internet traffic and pounced on unsuspecting individuals, conning them out of their hard-earned monies or goods during the difficult time.
A victim from Roodepoort, Hennie Page, is one of many who cried foul during the early stages of lockdown after he was tricked into buying into a ‘very convincing scam’.
The cyclist, who buys and sells bicycles, told the Record that he was scammed out of his bicycle worth R15 000 after advertising it on an online pawn site.
“On 28 June, I put my bicycle on the site to advertise, and then I got a call from the ‘buyer’ who showed interest in the product. So we continued the conversation on WhatsApp where he requested more photos of the bike,” he explained.
“He was impressed but told me he wanted the bike as a present for someone, which I didn’t mind. He ‘deposited the money’ and sent me a proof via SMS,” he said.
Since Page used a bank different from the buyer’s, he didn’t think of verifying with both banks because he knew that money takes about 48 hours to be cleared between banks.
“Immediately after the ‘payment’ was made, he sent one of the e-hailing services to pick up the bike. In the midst of the pick-up, the buyer was on the phone with me and the driver of the delivery vehicle. I gave him the bike and he left,” Page further explained.
He added that the buyer forwarded another SMS payment of R1500, which he claimed was intended for the driver for the trip. “I realised this was a scam when he wanted me to pay back the money to him via EFT and even showed me how it’s done. I told him I wasn’t going to pay that amount, especially not having seen the initial payment for the bike,” he detailed.
After falling out with the buyer, Page said he was contacted by the e-hailing driver who demanded money for the trip or otherwise he would hold the bicycle ransom. “The driver said none of us was going to get the bike because the trip wasn’t paid for. He then demanded R750 from me for the trip to be paid into his account. But when I requested a physical meeting to pay the amount he refused and swore at me,” he lamented.
At that point, Page said he was convinced that the two were in cahoots.
He also explained that attempts to recover the money or the bike were in vain. “I opened a case at Florida Police Station and the case was moved to Roodepoort. When I contacted the investigating officer, he said they could not do any arrests as it was difficult to trace the suspect,” he explained.
“I made another attempt to recover my bicycle by posting another ad of a fake bike. The same scammer showed interest, and when I revealed who I was, he swore at me.”
Honeydew Police spokesperson Captain Balan Muthan, who warned against online scams before, advised residents to refrain from buying online. “I know online is the way to go nowadays but it’s also an easy way to be robbed. It is the intelligent way to be robbed these days,” he said.
“People should not release their funds or items before they have seen the product, or money has exchanged hands,” he warned, adding that this type of crime is more prevalent and residents should be extra cautious.
This is a developing story.
