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A 36-year-old man from Gqeberha says his life has been turned upside down after he was called by a bogus policeman who informed him that he was a suspect in a rape case.
The victim, whose name is known to AlgoaFM News, said the unexpected call came from a very professional "Captain" on Wednesday.
He said the Captain also informed him that there is a charge against him for dealing in counterfeit money.
The scamster, whose alias is also known to AlgoaFM News, demanded an immediate cash amount of R15 000.
The victim said he played for time and was called back 30 minutes later by a person who identified himself as a Brigadier (Alias known to Algoa FM News), demanding a Cash-send to stop him from executing an arrest warrant.
The 'Brigadier' became extremely agitated and even supplied a Bank account number from Capitec.
(Screenshot of conversation between complainant and bogus cop)
At this point, the victim became suspicious and went to a local police station to look for the so-called Captain and Brigadier, only to be told that they do not exist.
A case of fraud was opened.
The complainant told AlgoaFM News that two other men were at the police station at the same time opening similar cases.
He said one man, however, did pay the extortion amount of R15 000.
Police Spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu says on Wednesday another man went to the police station in Despatch to inform them about a similar call he received, however, he did not open a case.
She says police are currently investigating at least nine such cases from across the Metro and surrounding areas this past year.
Colonel Naidu says men should be wary and guarded against scamsters using the names of fictitious officers to extort money.
In some of the other cases, the bogus callers would request anything from R5 000 to R15 000.
Colonel Naidu said in one particular case the scamster informed his victim that he would be sharing the money with a (fictitious) prosecutor.
She says recipients of the calls are innocent and should not panic and must never accept any numbers provided by the caller to return their call.
Any men who have been targetted by these scamsters are urged to come forward and lay a charge.
If such calls are received, the affected party should always make contact with the relevant unit or station rather than succumb to the request.
All these cases are currently under investigation.
