I thought it might be best to leave the sports world for today and talk about something that (nearly) happened yesterday (Monday). I was nearly a victim of a scam. Although, at least to me, it's quite a unique one. It involved SAPS, claiming that they have someone in custody and that they are implicating me in it.
Just like most people, I was hoping to have a nice and relaxing day. That was brought to a halt when I received a phone call asking me if I was planning on sending an illegal item to India. They had all of my details. The "officer" claimed it originated from Bloemfontein - a province I can't recall ever going to.
As a result of this discrepancy, I was told to write a whole bunch of information and he made me repeat the information to make sure I wrote everything correctly. I was then transferred to a woman who wanted me to repeat everything that I wrote. I was then transferred to a police station and was given a number. I was then instructed to call that number via a Whatsapp video call. I didn't find this suspicious. At this point, I was still calm. I didn't feel any distress.
I was told to make sure I was alone and to make sure my phone was charging.
I was being very co-operative and answering all the questions in a polite manner. It's important to note that I couldn't see the person; just the profile picture - the SAPS logo. When I finished with her, she said she would put in a good word in for me. I was pleased by this. She then transferred me to her boss (I suspect).
He asked the exact same questions as the lady. He proceeded to tell me that I'm being investigated for human trafficking and money laundering. I was in a state of panic. I was told to keep this a secret due to a confidentiality agreement. If I told someone, I could be sent to prison. It's important to note that I was giving them personal and financial details (idiotic, I know).
I was told to pay an x amount for bail. At this point, I was freaking out and felt like I was going to faint. The "officer" kept on telling me he understood how I was feeling. How could he? It felt odd that he said this. To pay the x amount for 'bail', I would have to go to the bank for a loan since I couldn't ask anyone for help. He told me I couldn't call him for assurances for the loan. I didn't know what to do. I was trapped. This initial contact ended with him telling me that he would contact me hourly from 18:00 - 20:00.
I was completely frozen by all this. I was thinking about what my future held. I was so shook up that felt like comitting suicide if this went any further. However, as time went on, I slowly came to the realisation that this might be a scam. I go online and I see that there's a growing trend of scammers acting like they're the police. Their imitation is very sophisticated and believable. The jargon is perfect and there's the use of radios.
I read a reddit post that sounded very similar to my case and I started to get pissed off that I might have been scammed again. I also read that SAPS doesn't contact the public via Whatsapp or use video calls.
When the guy messaged me, I asked him about what I found and he kept on side stepping the questions. He pretty much just stated that I need to go to the Bloemfontein police station to sort it all out. There was no way I could go there for two reasons: I couldn't afford it and I had work.
When I try to call the number (just for interest), it went straight to voicemail. That was very suspicious. When I ask the guy about it, he simply says that that was the office phone and that he wasn't around. If that's the case, why didn't someone else answer the phone?
I pretty much had enough of this bull**t and my fears turned to anger and calmness. To end off, I went to my nearest SAPS and the officer pretty much confirmed that it was a scam and that I should block the number - which I did.
For those who are interested, I fell victim to one of those fake car recovery scams. I subsequently paid a certain amount and didn't hear back from them.
I'm not looking for sympathy. I kind of deserve it for my naivety. I decided to do this for therapeutic purposes. I just hope that those who are reading this take note of what happened and to not fall prey to it.