Don’t let your luxury vehicle be the target of car theft!
There is a new trend among car thieves and confidence artists, whereby high-end luxury vehicles are targeted for car theft.
Instead of violence or force however, they use far more deceptive means of procuring your vehicle. With social media and perhaps inside men in some of the big car dealerships, these fraudsters start by learning as much as they can about you and your driving habits.
Once they’ve gathered sufficient information about you and your luxury car, they will contact you posing as an employee from your car dealership. They will then make up some issue with your vehicle or even offer to have it serviced for free. To reduce your inconvenience, they will even offer to collect it from your work or home.
You willingly hand over your keys to the imposter and when you contact your dealership to ask what’s happening, they are completely unaware.
The chief operating officer at the SAICB reports 29 cases of this type of car theft, all of a similar nature. He states however, that they could very well be more than that.
Working closely with the police, five arrests have already been made of individuals working within these syndicates. The majority of these cases of car theft have taken place in Gauteng, however there have been cases in other provinces.
From social media alone, there is a lot of information that can be gathered regarding your behaviour and likes. So be careful and don’t believe someone simply because they say they’re a representative or employee of whichever organisation. Confirm the details of whoever has contacted you before handing over any of your possessions!