Criminals claiming to be vehicle dealership representatives have scammed four vehicle owners in Gauteng over the course of November 2019 alone, says vehicle tracking company Netstar.<\/p>\n
Netstar said that these motorists were tricked into handing over their vehicles as part of a purported recall exercise<\/strong>.<\/p>\n When the victims contacted the dealerships they had no knowledge of any such recall being actioned.<\/p>\n The tracking group said it is aware of one incident that occurred earlier in the year and four in November, of which three of the vehicles were recovered.<\/p>\n “The criminals claim to be from a vehicle dealership when contacting potential victims, saying there is a factory fault on their vehicle for which they have actioned a recall campaign,” said Koogan Naicker, operations quality assurance manager at Netstar.<\/p>\n “Following this initial contact, the criminals arrive with a flat-bed truck and the vehicle is towed for so-called repairs,” he says.<\/p>\n Naicker says criminals have a massive head start before the client discovers the scam and Netstar is notified of the crime.<\/p>\n “Approach these cases with utmost suspicion and confirm with your vehicle dealership if you receive a call of this nature,” he warns. “Notify the South African Police Service immediately if you suspect the caller may be a fraud,” he said.<\/p>\n Several car brands and dealerships have sent out notices to customers warning them about the scam, adding that all official recall information would come directly through them via official channels.<\/p>\n
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