Pretoria man almost scammed out of money by bogus cops

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Pretoria - A Pretoria man was nearly hit with a double whammy - two of his family's cars were stolen, after which he was almost scammed out of money by bogus police officers for the return of the cars. The Lynnwood resident borrowed his father’s car after his own was stolen. According to police spokesperson Captain Colette Weilbach, shortly afterwards his father’s car was also stolen. The resident thought his luck was turning when he received a phone call from a Warrant Officer Ledwaba claiming his vehicle had been recovered at a border post in Mozambique. The officer said he was with two of his colleagues, a Captain Maluleke and a constable from Brooklyn SAPS, working on his car theft case. However, the resident suspected misconduct when the police officer requested R2 500 be transferred into his account to tow the car back to Pretoria.

The rationale for this was they could ensure he immediately gets his car back without the delay of impounding it first.

Weilbach said the resident phoned the Brooklyn police station to confirm whether the officers were stationed there. “As suspected, they were not. He was then informed it was a vehicle scam and was advised not to make any payments at all.”

Weilbach said this was not the only case they were investigating.

“There are several cases where persons impersonate police officers by phoning victims whose vehicles were reported stolen.”

She said the modus operandi involved the impersonators informing the victim the stolen car had been recovered.

“The owner is then requested to make a payment into an account, which is needed for the SAPS pound to release the vehicle or to get the vehicle back from another province.”

After the payment is made the so-called “police officer” cannot be traced and his phone number is not working.

“The SAPS is investigating several such cases. Part of the investigation is to establish how the suspects obtained personal details of the complainants and their stolen cars.”

She said it was vital to note there is no payment of any kind involved when a stolen car is recovered.

Pretoria News