Police in Port Elizabeth are urging young women to take special precautions on social media following a trend by criminals such as rapists to use these platforms to lure potential victims.
The warning comes from the Motherwell Police Cluster after nine cases of rape, over the past seven months in the area, were reported where contact was made over social media with the culprits.
Police spokesperson Captain Beetge said in most cases the perpetrator lures the victim by pretending to be a prominent person.
He said the victims are then told that a friend or relative of the perpetrator will pick them up - however the culprit then shows up and takes the woman to a remote area.
All the girls were between the ages of 18 and 25.
Beetge said the latest incident involved an 18-year-old woman who was raped by a man she met online.
She was raped in a remote area at the Motherwell reservoir on Monday
"This got police to get to the point where we want to warn our communities, especially the young ladies, if they want to use social networks as a dating platform they should make double sure that the person is in fact the person they say they are," said Beetge. "SAPS under no circumstances wish to say social networks are bad, but rather that people meeting each other on social networks should take extra effort to establish the real identities of the persons met on these platforms," he said.
Police are investigating the cases.
