During August and September, a series of fraudulent activities took place involving the sale of an Apple computer, unauthorised banking transactions and billing discrepancies with a cellphone service provider.
This alarming sequence of events, according to Stellenbosch police, highlights the importance of vigilance and verification in financial transactions, emphasising the need for individuals to scrutinise payment receipts and leverage banking apps to ensure secure and legitimate transactions.
In an incident on Wednesday 30 August, at 11:00, the complainant received a call from an unknown female who claimed to be from Absa bank. “The caller alerted her to fraudulent transactions on her account and instructed her to check her banking app,” said police spokesperson Captain Nathalie Martin. “The complainant discovered that an amount of R7 120 had been transferred from her Absa account to an unfamiliar Capitec account. No arrests have been made regarding these two cases either.”
She said the complainant also reported she noticed discrepancies in her billing with the MTN cellphone network service provider. “Although her contract was for R698,99, she found that she had been charged R9 594,53, a sum that was deducted from her Absa account. When she enquired about this with both Absa and MTN she discovered unauthorised accounts had been opened in her name in Rustenburg. In September she was billed again, this time for R16 753,35. She reported these incidents to both Absa and MTN. These irregularities occurred between 22 June and 31 August. The perpetrators remain unidentified and no arrests have been made.”
In another incident on Thursday 31 August, at 15:54, the complainant listed her Apple computer for sale on Facebook Marketplace. “A potential buyer, whom she knew as Bongani Wangazele, responded to her advertisement,” Martin related. “They agreed on a purchase price of R38 000, with payment to be made via instant EFT. That same day, a man claiming to be Mr Bongani’s cousin arrived at her residence to collect the computer, which she handed over. A few minutes later ‘Bongani’ contacted her for the password to access the computer, even though she was still awaiting the payment confirmation. She later received a notification from what appeared to be Standard Bank, confirming a payment of R38 000 from ‘Bongani’. However, she soon discovered that the payment notification was fraudulent and Mr Bongani’s profile had been deleted. No arrests have been made in connection with this incident.”
On Monday 4 September, at 15:32, a victim of cybercrime received a call from an individual claiming to be from the Absa Fraud Unit. “The caller instructed her to log into her Absa banking app,” Martin said. “On doing so she found R4 500 withdrawn from her account without her consent.”
She added people must verify their payment receipts and consult banks to confirm receipt of funds before handing over sold items.
