Don't get taken in by these official-looking extortionists
The latest ploy involves tricking people in Gqeberha into believing they have been linked to some or other criminal activity and convincing them to pay up to avoid arrest or to click on a fake app, which leads to their bank accounts being cleared out.
Fear of being arrested for something they did not do drives most of the victims to quickly pay to make the 'crime' go away.
Though the police are investigating the extortion racket, this is little solace for the victims as the money is unlikely to be recovered.
The scammers, dressed in customs or police uniforms, WhatsApp video call the victims and inform them that they have been implicated in crimes such as drug smuggling or counterfeit documents, money laundering and even murder.
In some cases, they appear to be sitting in a police van, with the sound of police radios in the background.
It looks and sounds authentic.
The scare tactic convinces the terrified victims to hand over money or provide their banking details and log on to fake police apps, only to find later that their bank accounts have been emptied.
One man lost all the money he had — R36,000 — after getting a call from a con artist who said he was a 'sergeant from the Pretoria police station', telling him he had been linked to someone involved in sex trafficking, money laundering and murder.
He was then called back on WhatsApp video, where he saw a man in full police uniform with South African and police flags behind him.
He followed various instructions and an hour after the call ended discovered his bank account had been cleared out.
Another victim was told that she had been linked to a parcel containing drugs in Cape Town. Worried and confused, she paid the crooks R23,000.
These criminals use fear to achieve their goal. Combined with the use of police uniforms and equipment, it all seems real and makes it easy to manipulate people into paying up.
We urge people to drop the call and immediately call an official police number to check whether the claims are real should they ever find themselves being extorted in this way.
And whatever you do, never, ever give your banking details or other personal information over the phone or after clicking on links sent to you by unknown people.
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