{"id":739101,"date":"2023-12-28T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=739101"},"modified":"2023-12-28T06:49:12","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T04:49:12","slug":"warning-over-hijacking-trend-targeting-drive-thrus-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/739101\/warning-over-hijacking-trend-targeting-drive-thrus-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning over hijacking trend targeting drive-thrus in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The City of Ekurhuleni in Gauteng has issued a warning to motorists to remain vigilant at both fast food drive-thrus due to a notable increase in criminal activities and scams at these locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Law enforcement officials in the city have identified an alarming trend where drive-thrus are increasingly being targeted by criminals, <a href=\"https:\/\/topauto.co.za\/news\/92120\/warning-over-new-crime-trends-at-drive-thrus-and-petrol-stations-in-south-africa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> TopAuto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although there are several locations where motorists can be at risk of being victimised, the South African Police Service (SAPS) officials in Ekurhuleni have observed a rising trend of criminal activity at fast-food drive-thrus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An increasingly popular method being used by criminals in South Africa is to target vehicles when they are trapped and unable to move, such as on a motorway off-ramp or while paying for a parking ticket. A recent viral video in Durban highlighted this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast food drive-thrus are the latest hotspot for these attempted robberies, as Ekurhuleni has <strong>recorded incidents of thieves barricading a targeted victim\u2019s car while in the queue to order and pick up their food.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the individual unable to escape, the thieves, who are usually armed, rob them of their personal belongings such as handbags and cellphones or may even try to hijack the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In hijacking cases, the criminals typically wait until the target is near the front of the queue, as this gives them a better chance to make a quick getaway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two cars are usually involved, with one following the target from behind to prevent them from fleeing in reverse, while the other car does the same in front, with the suspects jumping out and surprising the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Security experts have provided the following advice to avoid becoming a victim of one of these attempts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Keep your bags in the boot where they aren\u2019t visible;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have your cash and card on hand for a quick payment and exit;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid any retail establishments that are dimly lit or isolated at night;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep all your windows and doors closed while waiting for your order;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Try and only order food at peak times when patronage is at its highest; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If possible, don\u2019t take children with you to the drive-thru, as they can be distracting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/737285\/warning-over-new-hijacking-trend-hitting-south-africas-largest-province\/\">Warning over new hijacking trend hitting South Africa\u2019s largest province<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Criminals have turned their attention to fast-food drive-thrus in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":661385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[853,15728],"class_list":["post-739101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-south-africa","tag-topauto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":739105,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739101\/revisions\/739105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}