29 JUNE 2010 - Crime Forum
Beware of false SMS competition promotions
The recent increase of fraud cases reported by the community, as a result of scam artists sending out
false cell phone competition messages, have become a grave concern for the Vanderbijlpark SA
Police.

29 JUNE 2010

BEWARE OF FALSE SMS COMPETITION PROMOTIONS

The recent increase of fraud cases reported by the community, as a result of scam artists sending out
false cell phone competition messages, have become a grave concern for the Vanderbijlpark SA
Police.  We wish to extend a stern warning to the community, and especially our senior citizens,
regarding this growing crime trend.

The modus operandi of these scam artists are mostly the same.  The victim will receive an enticing
sms informing him/her that he/she has won a competition linked to a famous brand, cell phone
company or organisation. The prize won will be a huge amount, such as R95 000-00 or a million
rand, which makes the sms even more attractive to the victim.  A cellular number is then provided
which the victim must call to claim the prize.
Once the victim phones the number the scam artist informs the victim that a cell phone voucher of
R600 or any other amount must be brought and sent to the competition cell phone number. After
doing so the victim receives a “prize certificate” via fax and is then requested to pay R6500-00,
R180-00 or any other amount to cover the “administration costs”.  Once the amount is paid by the
victim the scam artist breaks off all contact and disappears with the money.

The following safety hints is vital and worth taking note of in order to avoid falling victim to these
criminals.

• Be alert when offered a prize in a competition that you never entered for.  When something is too good to be true it usually is!
• Never provide your personal details such as your banking details, address and identity number unless you are sure that the company you’re dealing with is legitimate.
• These criminals sometimes use the names of banks and their officials to give credibility to their “referrals” or support other suspects of their “too-good-to-be-true” business proposals.
• The attractive offer may be backed with impressive-looking documentation and letterheads, which may be even be genuine letterheads that have been stolen or reproduced.
• If you make the deposit, you will never see the money again and may be threatened and intimidated to make further deposits.
• The perpetrators are almost always well-dressed and well-spoken.
• In most of the incidents our senior citizens are being targeted by these criminals.  We urge our senior citizens to rather contact their nearest police stations when in doubt.

Under no circumstances should one attempt to reply, either by email, phone or post. We urge the public not become another statistic in these scams and to report incidents to the police. Anyone with information regarding these scams must kindly contact D/Cst Willy Mathibela at 082 970 9635.

ENQUIRIES:   WARRANT OFFICER KINNIE STEYN
COMMUNICATION OFFICER
TEL: 016 910 9084
CELL: 082 319 9452
FAX: (016) 933 7814 / (016) 910 9084

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