Locals fell prey to fraud worth thousands of rands

The Citizen

28-05-2025

Fraudsters over the past weekend left more than three locals stunned after scamming thousands of rands through electronic transactions.
According to the police, the scams varying from digital theft to in-person deception, have robbed individuals of their hard-earned money, proving that fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tactics.
'To protect yourself from fraud and cyber threats, never respond to emails or phone messages claiming to be from your bank that request personal details, as legitimate banks will never ask for this information via email. Never share your online ID, password, or PIN with anyone, and avoid writing them down or saving them on your desktop. Always ensure you log off or sign out after completing an internet banking session, and never leave your computer unattended while logged in. Avoid doing online banking in public areas or on computers accessible to strangers. Regularly change your PIN and passwords, set reasonable transaction limits on your accounts, and only provide credit card details to trustworthy companies. Lastly, if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is – always remain cautious and vigilant when dealing with financial transactions,' said Captain Eddie Hall, spokesperson of SAPS Witbank as he warns the public against cases like this.
For one unsuspecting victim in Watermeyer street on May 23, a simple phone notification turned into a nightmare.
According to police a man was woken up by the sound of his phone beeping, and checked his account only to find that R18 700 had been withdrawn via a PayShap transaction—an app he never authorised for such use. The realisation was sudden as the reality of cyber fraud hit home.
On May 22, there were a few cases reported. In Strydom Street a man encountered three individuals – two women and one man – who claimed to be employees of a national fuel company.
They assured him they were assisting customers with their points cards for petrol purchases. Trusting them, he allowed them to take his picture and handed over his ID details. What followed was financial devastation – R81 000 was withdrawn from his bank account across multiple locations.
In another incident in Uthingo Park, Tasbet Park, a woman found herself unknowingly tricked by a scam that exploited trust and familiarity.
According to police she received a message on WhatsApp, supposedly from her pastor, requesting an urgent money transfer due to a network issue.
Without questioning the legitimacy of the request, she transferred R3 000 to the provided account number, only to later receive confirmation that her pastor's number had been hacked.
'I never suspected it was a scam – I genuinely believed I was helping my pastor. My trust in him made me certain that his request was genuine, and I acted with a kind heart, simply wanting to support someone in need. It never crossed my mind that I could be deceived,' she said.
In another incident, a resident in Bankenveld Estate fall prey to an attack which came in the form of unexpected online money transactions.
On May 14, he noticed unusual deductions from his Absa account. Upon contacting the bank's fraud helpline, he was informed that his account had been cloned, resulting in a staggering loss of R39 524.64.
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