R8.5bn worth of vehicles are stolen and hijacked in SA annually
There are a lot of hijacking and vehicle-theft incidents happening around us on a daily basis, but few people know exactly what a big impact this has. The CEO of the South African Insurance Crime Bureau (SAICB) stated that a staggering R8.5bn worth of vehicles are stolen and hijacked in SA annually. That is a huge amount of cars and money!
The majority of these cars get taken across borders to neighbouring countries where syndicates are making huge profits and South Africans are footing the bill. Of the R8.5 bn worth of vehicles that get stolen, R4.9bn worth are taken across the border, R3.1 bn stay in SA as ”cloned vehicles” and R514 m end up in ”chop shops” across the country.
“Today, tech-enabled syndicates have upped their game and have the ability to take over the identity of the vehicle owner in numerous scams. Panelbeating shops fall prey to this, as criminals impersonate the vehicle owner, pay the excess of the claim at the shop and drive off with the vehicle,” stated Hugo Van Zyl, CEO of the South African Insurance Crime Bureau.
During 2013, approximately 40 000 stolen vehicles re-appeared into the system (cloned vehicles), costing a fortune for the insurance industry to pay out claims where they were unaware that these vehicles were in fact cloned. “When you insure a cloned vehicle, insurance companies don’t have to pay out, because the incorrect vehicle is reflected on the books,” he said.
They are also warning motorists to be on the lookout for different types of scams. These scams predominantly take place on social media like Facebook. One such scam is where you as a car owner might complain publicly on a car manufacturer’s Facebook page and you get an email from the car manufacturing company saying they will take a look at your vehicle – the next thing you know your car gets stolen by a syndicate acting as the person from the manufacturer.
Be aware of scams and be vigilant on our roads!