NELSPRUIT – The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has issued a stern warning to the public about repeatedly reported Cybercrimes.

Criminals are now exerting new strategies to defraud people of their hard earned money and one of commonly used methods is online fraud whereby unsuspecting victims are targeted. As we are currently approaching the festive season, police are warning community members to be more vigilant and to guard against phishing scams, internet fraud, online intellectual property infringements, identity theft as well as online harassment and cyberstalking as these are commonly practiced by fraudsters these days.

The warning comes after allegations emerged of a female victim who reportedly met a male friend via social media. The victim is said to have believed everything the fraudster told her as he sounded legit and the two became close to a point that he promised to send a gift.

Later on, a female person believed to be an accomplice allegedly called her and claimed to be working for a courier company and was having a delivery for her. However, for the parcel to be delivered the victim had to pay upfront an amount of R1850. Due to excitement, the money was paid, however the caller called for the second time and further demanded R6 000 of which the victim managed to pay R3 000. To her amusement, no gift was delivered, both the online friend and the alleged courier woman were nowhere to be found, both their mobile phones had been off ever since. A fraud case was then registered at Mhluzi SAPS on Saturday, 05 November 2022. The matter is still under investigation.

The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has since taken the opportunity to caution the public against these internet fraudsters who are out there to prey on innocent victims thereby defrauding them of their hard earned money.

Source: South African Police Service