An article in Businesstech warns vehicle owners against two new schemes devised by fraudsters to steal your vehicle.
The Insurance Crime Bureau (ICB) has recently issued a vehicle recall scam alert following a resurgence in the number of cases, while blue light hijackings are also on the rise again.
Vehicle recall scam
“Criminals execute a recall scam by contacting unsuspecting vehicle owners while posing as officials representing a car manufacturer. They convince the owners that their vehicle is part of a batch being recalled due to some or other malfunction or mechanical issue,” said Anneli Retief, head of Dialdirect Insurance.
The ICB said that initial contact is normally made telephonically, where a criminal posing as an official informs victims that their vehicle is being recalled.
This is often followed up with a spoof e-mail to make arrangements to collect the vehicle with a tow truck. Several days later, the owner would typically phone the dealership for an update, only to discover that the vehicle has in fact been stolen.
Recall scams aside, Dialdirect, through its claims data, said it has also noticed that higher value vehicles in South Africa are being targeted in hijackings.
“This spike in high-value vehicle hijackings over the last three months is largely attributed to syndicate operations using the blue light robbery technique,” said Retief.
Blue light robbery technique
This refers to a modus operandi where criminals impersonate law enforcement officials to commit hijackings – a method otherwise known as blue light robberies.
If you are in such a situation, where an unmarked vehicle with a flashing blue light is trying to force you to pull over, you should immediately switch on your emergency or hazard lights to acknowledge the person trying to pull you over, indicate that they should follow you and drive to the nearest police station or a busy public area.
“Covid-19 lockdown regulations seem to have done little in the way of curbing vehicle theft, with the South African Police Services reporting 4,513 carjackings in the first quarter of this year – an increase of 4.9% compared to the first quarter of 2020.
“Always be alert, don’t trust too easily, and always remember that your life is more valuable than your possessions,” said Retief.
