Don’t fall prey to scam artist, warns CCPO

The Community Crime Prevention Organisation (CCPO) is urging Toti residents to be cautious of a scam artist who preys on anyone who has had anything stolen.

“If you have had a car, dog, cat or anything else recently stolen or you have lost something, be warned. This scumbag trawls social media and picks up on your incident, then gives you a call telling you he knows where it is and for a small fee, he can give you the details to where your item is,” said CCPO committee member, George Snodey.

In a recent case, a person’s car was stolen and the details were posted on social media in a bid to locate it with the public’s help. The scam artist offered to help as he claimed to know where it was.

He requested R3,000 for the information, but the person only had to pay him R600 upfront and the balance once the car was found. He asked the person to do an e-wallet transaction and if they were unable to do so, to deposit the funds via an ATM.

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Snodey said he only gives his banking details once you are in front of an ATM.

“Once you have paid the money, he provides some fictitious address to explain where the car is. We believe he could be part of the gang stealing the cars, as he gives people details of the car that he would only know if he had seen the vehicle.

He is very calm and convincing and tells you they have already changed the registration plates and are busy doing other cosmetic changes to it, as it is due to go across the border in the next hour or so in a bid to get you need to hurry up and pay the money.

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The next day the person receives a message saying sorry it wasn’t your car and he will pay the money back by 5pm, which never happens.”

Snodey urged people to share this information, as if it can save just one more person from being scammed, it will have achieved something. “Let’s stop this thief from making money out of other people’s misfortune.”