MTUBATUBA SAPS are warning people against falling for scams, and to better protect their identities, banking and financial information.
This after numerous people in and around Mtubatuba have lost thousands, some hundreds of thousands, after having been scammed by fraudsters.
In one case one man lost more than R60 000 in three hits by the same fraudsters.
According to police records, the man had withdrawn R3 000 from an ATM in Mtuba.
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While walking up the road, he was touched by someone and then referred to other people for assistance.
‘This man believed that, when the person touched him, the silver strip on his money would fall away, rendering the money useless,’ said Mtuba SAPS Communications Officer, Captain Justice Hlabisa.
The man was then taken to the police station by someone pretending to be a police officer.
‘By that time, whether by muthi or another means, this man had fallen under the spell of those trying to scam him and did not argue when he was taken to Empangeni and told to withdraw a further R9 000.’
Under the guise of helping the victim protect his money, the fraudsters then talked the man into taking them to his home and giving them R60 000 in savings.
‘We want to urge people not to fall for this nonsense of a quick touch being able to put you under a spell and make your money powerless,’ said Hlabisa.
‘People must be very careful and protect themselves and their money against such fraudsters.’
In another case of fraud, a woman withdrew R500 from an ATM but, unknown to her, the person who went with her saw her PIN code and managed to steal the card from her.
A few days later, the suspect withdrew R550 from the victim’s account and left the card at a Mtuba supermarket.
There are many cases of fraud under investigation in Mtubatuba, and police officers have issued a serious warning to the public at large.
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