POLICE have noted with concern an increase in fraud cases where members of the public fall victim to scams, involving advance fees for cash loans or bogus job offers .
The victim is called by an individual posing as an agent, offering a loan or job.
However they must first release some money for the deal to be completed but when the payment is made, the scammers cannot be contacted.
Richards Bay SAPS Communication Officer, Captain Debbie Ferreira says a person will not be asked to release payment for the promise of a job offer or a loan from a reputable business.
‘The public must exercise caution and avoid this advance fee fraud as reputable businesses will not engage in these shady activities.
‘If you expect a scam, contact the SAPS Crime Stop line 08600 10111.’
419 Scam
The 419 scam is a so-called ‘advance fee fraud’.
It gets its name from Section 419 (chapter 42) of the Criminal Code of the Federation of Nigeria and Lagos which states: ‘Any person who by any false pretence and with intent to defraud obtains from any other person anything capable of being stolen or induces any other person to deliver to any other person anything capable of being stolen is guilty of a felony and liable to imprisonment.’
In simple terms the object of the exercise for the tricksters is to use greed and the lure of easy money to cause unsuspecting victims to hand over large sums of cash in the belief that they will in return receive even larger sums of money.
The reality is that the people who are taken in by these scams always end up losing a lot of money.
