Fraudsters on the prowl
The Erongo police cautioned members of the public to be vigilant against scammers soliciting money through e-wallets.
The head of the community policing sub-division in the Erongo region, Inspector Ileni Shapumba, cautioned members of the public to be vigilant of scammers in the area of Walvis Bay.This follows an increased number of cases being reported of people being defrauded of money via electronic wallets.
Shapumba advised the public not to share their personal information with anyone. "We recently arrested a man who was found with over 105 different banking app on his phone. This aided the suspect in defrauding other people via electronic cards which are used for online transactions made through a smartphone or computer,"
"When you receive money via your phone through any e-wallet, scammers can access your PIN and withdraw your money, sometimes even without sharing your PIN. We have received different cases of people being defrauded of money that they receive via these electronic wallets," Shapumba said, adding that the method used is still unknown and is being "thoroughly" investigated.
Community assistance
Shapumba further appealed to the public to not harbour criminals. "Those that have information on the individuals committing these crimes can assist police to intelligently knock them down. We do not want to see a situation where people suffer while there are others out there with information that could lead to the arrests of these individuals.
"Share that information with us in confidence to help combat crime. Let us also remain alert at all times. Everybody is preparing for the festive season - including criminals. October and November are the months we normally see an increase in economic crimes, housebreaking and robberies because people are preparing for the festive season," Shapumba said.
He added that the police in the Erongo region are looking to scale down as much as possible, in terms of administrative functions to allow them to intensify operational duties on the ground.
"In as much as we are going to do that, we want the public to come forward and share information. Organise yourselves in groups of Neighbourhood Watches. We have seen a decline in Neighbourhood Watch groups as well as involvement in community policing. We want people to pick up in terms of community policing. Go to your closest police station and identify problems in your area. Talk to the station commanders. Let us try as much as we can to solve the problems in our communities," Shapumba said.