GAUTENG. – Tshwane police are warning residents of scammers who pose as police officers over the telephone and threaten people with arrest if they do not pay money. The suspects claim that summonses for their victims' arrest have been issued and that they must pay money to have the charges withdrawn or the summonses cancelled. The scammers allegedly also send forged arrest summonses via WhatsApp to make their demands seem credible.
Capt. Johan van Dyk, police spokesperson, says this type of fraud has been doing the rounds in the Tshwane policing district for some time. The suspects claim among other things that they are calling from the Lyttelton police station or other police stations in the district. Van Dyk warns that no money must be paid to anyone who demands payment to have a criminal case withdrawn or an arrest summons cancelled. A document that looks like an official summons and is received via WhatsApp does not mean that it is genuine.
According to police, people who receive such calls or suspect documents must stay calm, not hand over any money, and verify the information with their local police station's commanding officer. The public must also not share personal details or banking information with the callers. Telephone numbers, WhatsApp messages and documents that can serve as evidence must be kept so that they can be reported to police.
Police say they regard the impersonation of police officers and the fraudulent use of police identification and documents as serious.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
