Limpopo police are warning community members of a fraudulent scam in which victims are contacted by the perpetrators, who claim that they were paid to kill them, and they demand money to spare the victims’ lives.
In some of the incidents, three public servants reported similar cases.
Police said in other cases, two businessmen also received telephone calls from a person purporting to be a member of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks.
The callers tells the unsuspecting victims they were investigating their cases, before demanding money from the victims to avoid prosecution.
“The police appeal to all community members to guard against these scammers,” said Limpopo provincial commissioner of police, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe.
“The police advise community members who receive such suspicious calls to rather verify caller identity by asking for their names and location of where they are based,” she said.
“Contact the police station that the scammer claims to be stationed at to verify whether there is a legitimate warrant of arrest for you or whether the supposed official works there.”
Hadebe cautioned community members to avoid paying the callers, as this is a rampant scam.
“Do not pay them anything as the legitimate police will never demand cash in exchange for their service,” Hadebe said.
“Report the scam to the nearest police station, Crime Stop number 08600 10111, or share information on My SAPS App.”
On the other hand, IOL has been running a scammed series featuring stories of numerous South African women who have fallen victim to romance scams, which left the women broken, bankrupt and in most cases destitute.
In May, IOL reported that a 44-year-old man, Congolese national Joseph Hassan Yaye was arrested after a Limpopo police woman was scammed of her pension. Yaye appeared before the Makhado Magistrate’s Court.
At the time, Ledwaba said the Congolese man faces charges of fraud.
“It is alleged that the suspect (Yaye) and his accomplice defrauded a 54-year-old woman a substantial amount of money during May 2023. The victim was an employee at the South African Police Service in Limpopo.”
The police officer was allegedly convinced by scammers to resign from work and invest her payout money into a “business venture”.
Last year, IOL reported that the Hawks, issued a warning to South African women to be vigilant amid a “rapid increase of dating scam incidents” in Limpopo province.
The warning came after a 60-year-old Polokwane-based woman, a teacher, was scammed out of more than R800,000 of her pension money.
IOL