Public warned to beware of scam in which caller poses as police officer to extort money

CAPE TOWN - The public is being warned to be cautious about scam calls in which the caller poses to be a police officer, mostly to extort money. 
 
Oftentimes, these scam callers attempt to coerce the recipient to pay a traffic fine to avoid arrest. 
 
Head of forensics at ENS Africa, Steven Powell, said it’s a serious offence to impersonate a police officer who would never call an individual to make a payment of any kind. 
 
"This is not just individuals preying on a few gullible victims. There are syndicates that use a variety of different scams to con people out of their money. This is a form of extortion where they put fear into a person that they are about to be arrested."
 
Private investigator, Wendy Pascoe, said that the advent of social media and online shopping had made many users more susceptible to having their personal details exploited by criminals. 
 
"In this type of scam, they like to use scare tactics, so it makes the individual very vulnerable. It puts you in a position where you act hastily because you are scared that you are going to be prosecuted for something." 
 
Powell said if you suspected that you had been scammed, acting fast was the best recourse to avoid losing money. 
 
"The first two hours after paying out the fraudulent payment is critical because if you contact the bank immediately, they will freeze the amount in the account and they will ask corresponding banks to freeze payments that go to corresponding banks, because what the fraudsters do, they use what we call mules to receive the money and these mules are pensioners or students who are desperate for money."
 
Powell said if you were unsure about whether you were being scammed, the details of the call and the threat should immediately be reported to a police station.