Hi to all.
I would just like to add some information to this post.
Although scammers think of new and more elaborate ways to scam people daily, there are ways to catch them and get them to "face the music" in Court.
If someone tries to scam you, it is considered "attemp to commit fraud" and if they work as a team "conspiring to commit fraud". So them trying is already a legal issue. If they succeed it can be fraud and theft! Our legal system connects the amount in ZAR to the jail term. This means that the more something is worth, the longer they sit.
Also, the more elaborate the plan to complete their fraud and theft, the higher the penalties will be. They also have the unfortunate "premeditated" thing going for them, due to the planning part and thus cannot be seen as a "opportunistic" crime.
Photos:
Do a reverse lookup on photos in posts. This will show you all the websites where this photo (or photos like it) have been used. Look carefully to see if you spot the exact same photo on other sites and also note the dates. I have seen recent adds on other sites where the seller is ising a photo from 2 years ago! This will also assits you to see if the seller is asking different prices on different sites, if someone posted those pics under "stolen" items or if the seller does not own those items at all by using someone elses photos off of Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and so forth.
Email addresses:
.co.za email addresses needs to be considered with the same suspicion as any Gmail, hushmail, ymail and whatever email account. Do not think just because someone is sending you a reply to your advertisement from a "@mediclinic.co.za", claiming to be a nurse/doctor or any worker there, that they are. Websites, databases and email servers get hacked every day. You can even buy email addresses online belonging to legit companies. There are a lot of other ways to make an email look like it is coming from somewhere where it is not coming from. I am not going to go into all the details because I will be typing for days. However, all is not lost. A simple email to the Admin and Webmaster can sort this out.
For known companies, legit businesses and so forth, you could try the following.
99% of websites have an Admin, Info and Webmaster account. This refers to ".co.za" email accounts. Simply send a mail to "admin@" followed by the company and ending with ".co.za". Here is an example: admin@thisisanexample.co.za
If after 24 hours, you received nothing, then you will want to send one to the Webmaster of the site. Following the above example but instead of "admin", type "webmaster".
And lastly try the "info@" email account.
Ask them to please verify the user and email address for you. Remember they will be doing you a favor and it is not their job or duty to supply you with such information. Be nice! Introduce yourself and start by telling them that you would like to enquire if the following email address is legit and used by someone working there. After that, explain SHORTLY that you are selling something and a person using that email address contacted you.
The above method works with well known, established businesses. Not so much with lesser known companies.
But what about a website that nobody knows anything about? Let's say you get an email from: mtbripper123@rippingupmtbtracksallday.co.za
You go online and find a website, but nobody knows of them. This is where it gets a bit difficult. You see anyone can create a website. Some sites and apps allow you to create a website for free or less than R100. To register a website is cheap. Hosting it can be free if you do it from a home setup. So a tsotsie can easily go and create a beautiful and professional looking website for free (most are drag and drop, you simply edit the text), then register it for cheap and then host it for cheap or even free. Allowing them to have a lot of email addresses that are ".co.za".
Clearly the info, andmin and so forth will not work here, as the scammer will be in charge of those accounts also.
Well, try by checking here: https://coza.net.za/whois.shtml
Dates can also tell a story on it's own. If the site was registered very recently, well......
What if you get an email from a .co.za account but there is no website? Again, check the "whois" site to see what you can find out.
Drivers license, ID photos:
Some of the dumber fraudsters out there will willingly share this info, to "calm" you down. However....also know that this drivers license or ID photo or passport photo could be stolen. Just type in "South Africa drivers license" in Google and click on images....you will find a lot! Someone sending you a photo of their license, ID or passport, doesn't actually mean anything. It could not even be theirs!
Phone numbers:
With the whole RICA law, things are a bit more difficult for the tsotsies, however not impossible for them. Pre registered SIM cards are freely available still. The law, however states that the person the SIM is registered to, takes full responsibility for it. So if the fraudsters are using a number not registered to them, then the person who gave/sold/borrowed them the SIM, is just as guilty and also in contravention of the RICA act.
Even if the number does not belong to the fraudster, keep that information. It has to be registered to someone somewhere...
Catching 1 guy, can lead to a whole syndicate being caught and brought to book.
Please keep in mind that to Google a number can lead you down the wrong path. In South Africa, we recycle numbers. This means that if someone doesn't pay their account and the number is cutt off, after a couple of months the number is recycled back into the system and given to someone else. This also applies to "pay as you go" users that don't use their SIM within a year (last time I checked. Could be less or more now).
By now we all know more or less what the MO is on most of the scams out there.
Remember...you having a "feeling" doesn't mean someone is guilty of anything.
However, if a known MO is seen or the person did it more than once, say something! If someone tried to legit defraud you, go to SAPS. Tell them what happened. Tell them you suspect this person of trying to commit fraud. Give them all the info you have. Sooner or later that person will make a mistake and then all the piled up stuff against them can be used.
