As on many previous occasions Paarl police inform the community again to be extremely cautious regarding cybercrimes and online scams.
The spokesperson, Captain Louise du Plessis, also provided tips to proceed with caution:. Members of the public are to make sure they do not pay over the full amount of cash when buying products over the internet or social media platforms like, for example, Facebook Market Place. “Cases have been reported where items that were purchased, was never received and/or items were purchased and when it is collected, they find themselves at a false collection address,” explained Du Plessis.. She warned about “schemes in which one is contacted via SMS, WhatsApp or application notifications indicating one can get an extra income through investments, or one has been selected for a cash prize, are incidents that are on the increase. These schemes typically request a cash deposit to obtain the benefit, and once paid, further funds are required to release the entire payout.
In certain instances, victims lose up to R1 million through such fraudulent transactions.”. Being contacted by a supposed “bank employee” alerting the account holder about fraudulent activities on their account, further advising them to transfer their funds to another account or provide their banking details to the caller to stop the activities, is fraudulent. Du Plessis reiterated it is imperative never to provide this information over the telephone.
“Visit or contact your nearest bank branch personally to determine whether there are possible fraudulent activities on the account.”
