Our children are being targeted on Mxit and other chat networks. The
latest incident happened on thursday 16th July, when a 16 year old girl
was taken in Farrarmere by one of the "pretenders" on Mxit. She returned
home on Saturday evening, however there was proof of sexual
exploitation. A concerted effort to find the suspect paid off on Sunday
night when he was arrested. He was caught through the unwavering
commitment of her father, the Benoni CPF, The Pink Ladies, the
Farrarmere Community Precinct and the SAPS.

Please make your children aware of the dangers, even preventing them
from using these services. We know these services are very cheap to use
but we also need to ask ourselves if this is the price we put on our
children's lives. The statistics of missing children, especially where
these "Chat rooms" are involved, are staggering.

We cannot just sit and say that it will never happen to us; the fact is
that it can happen sooner than you think, so please become more aware
and more involved. There is a large network in place to track and find
these perpetrators and to come down on them with the greatest of forces.

If you suspect anyone of perpetrating these crimes, or someone who has
been drawn into this sick crim, please do not leave it, get involved and
let the people that care about these children try and find them and let
the the law take it's course with them.

Please contact your local SAPS office, CPF or The Pink Ladies if you
have any info.

SAPS Benoni - (011) 747-0053
Benoni Community Safety Forum (CPF) - 082 555 0292
The Pink Ladies - 072 214 7439

Beware: If you walk out of Durban International Airport carrying a laptop you have a good chance of being robbed.

The robbers watch while you hire a car and rob you when you park at a shopping centre. The Workshop, Musgrave, Gateway and ICC are hotspots.

These criminals target rented Hyundai as they easy to unlock without damaging the lock. Once in the car they open the boot.

They somehow know there is a laptop in the boot and that you have not taken it with you.

Many victims have reported that they did not open the boot of the car after leaving the airport so there was no way the criminals could just be targeting random rented cars, they are specifically looking for laptops! All the dots when added up indicate that they spot you at the airport.

The only part I cannot work out is how they know where you are going without following you...Do they have spotters at the shopping centre who are informed you have a laptop or do they attach a magnetic tracking device to your car at the car hire?

All the car rental companies have been targeted. The car rental companies have been aware of this problem for months and have tried everything to stop this theft but have failed.

They give me the assurance that they warn their customers not to leave valuables in the car. These criminals will only steal your laptop and will not steal other valuables. They have been known to even leave handbags and shopping bags behind.

Please always remember to ask for a Reference number when reporting a crime to SAPS, as well as when reporting accidents etc. to EMPD. Whenever there are incidents, a reference number must be given as proof that the incident was reported; and this reference number is used in all communication handled in connection with the incident until a case number or accident report number is given. If you do not receive this number and there is no response to your report, you have no leg to stand on, as they will not be able to trace your call; and they can even deny that you had ever called at all. It could be vital in cases where lives or goods have been lost due to the lack of service/response by authorities, to bring to justice the people who have neglected these duties. Although the reference number should be sufficient, also try to get the person’s name you spoke to, as well as the time. The more info you have, the better your chances of having the required response to your emergency.  This reference number, however, should not be confused with a case number or accident report number, which is given after the crime has occurred or accident has happened etc. There have been a few incidents where we have tried to solve issues of non service, but due to no reference numbers being given, it has led to unresolved issues which could have been sorted out quickly. 

Thanks and regards,
Clive Patterson
Head: CSF PR and Media
Benoni Community Safety Forum

Hi All

Please take note of the following info and spread to your e-mail databases.  The use of card skimmers and cloning devices has dramatically increased lately.  The devices are mainly employed by organised criminal syndicates and are rarely used by individual criminals working on their own.  These incidents can only start growing in the run up to the soccer world cup.  Please note that the new generation of card skimmers / cloners are actually smaller than the card itself, making it very easy for the suspect to swipe your card while you are distracted by signing the authorisation slip. It only takes a fraction of a second to do and your card has been cloned.  Please pay very careful attention to where your card is at all times!!

Once your card has legitimately been swiped by the cashier, immediately take your card back into your possession.  There is no actual need for the cashier to keep hold of it, other than to verify the signature (which most don't actually bother to do).  If the cashier does actually request to see the signature, then you can show him/her the signature strip.  At least the card will now be under your control and this will cut down the chances of a criminal distracting you and skimming the card.  If you are at a restaurant, always request for a table top portable pay point to be brought to your table and if they don't have this facility, then ALWAYS follow the waitron to the actual pay point.  Do not trust anybody; it may end up costing you, literally!

Haden Searles

Chairperson - Dbn North & Umhlanga CPF (Sectors 1-7)

Waitresses caught skimming
25/03/2009 20:16  - (SA) 

Cape Town - Five people, four of them waitresses at a Cape Town International Airport restaurant, have been arrested following a tip-off about credit card skimming, police said on Wednesday.

National spokesperson Captain Dennis Adriao said the four, aged from 28 to 33, were arrested at a Spur outlet at the airport on Friday evening and had already appeared in court.

The arrest, by the commercial crimes unit and airport police, followed a tip-off from Absa's fraud unit.

Police found a "state-of-the-art" skimming device on one of the women.

They had been able to link it to fraudulent withdrawals from four patrons' accounts totalling about R40 000.

However it was likely that more people would come forward when they realised they had been fleeced, Adriao said.

Those arrests were followed by that of a fifth person, a waiter at an upmarket Sea Point restaurant, over the weekend. The arrest was linked to the same device, he said.

The waitresses were from Gugulethu and Nyanga on the Cape Flats, while the man from Philippi.

Adriao said it was too early in the investigation to say whether they were working for a larger syndicate, or operating merely as a group.

He warned people never to let their credit cards out of their sight, and to be "extra cautious" about who they handed them to.

He said the skimming device confiscated from the waitresses could hold the details of up to 500 cards.

It could be used to not only read cards, but clone them as well.

Possession of the device was in itself illegal, he said.

- SAPA

Suspicious vehicle - Red Nissan Hardbody JLP402GP (Tested false plates) - 6
A/M suspects observing CIT vehicle at Northmead Square Shopping Centre, 14th
Avenue, Northmead, Benoni. The vehicle and occupants left direction
unknown.

Received information from the Centre Manager of Eastgate Shopping Centre
Bedfordview. According to her, on 28/02/2009 at 19:40 she was
followed-home from the mentioned shopping centre to Alberton via the
N12 highway to her home at Alberton, by an unknown number of A/M
suspects driving in a white Opel Kadett reg no DKY347GP (False Plates).

At 14h16 on 05 March a group of 4 black males driving in a GOLD 3 SERIES
CONVERTABLE BMW with the reg. PDG robbed the occupants of a home in
Mackenzie Park South.

They initially stopped outside the house and pretended to ask the owner
for directions, they left and a few minutes later arrived in the house
and commenced to rob them at gunpoint.

If you have any information about this vehicle please contact the
control room. Please communicate this outward with the hope that someone
is able to identify this vehicle.

Whenever you arrive home and think that your home has been burgled, please DO NOT enter under any circumstances. It has happened on occasions lately and as recent as Friday last week that the intruders were still inside the house. These criminals are armed most of the time and will not hesitate to attack you. When you arrive home and there has been a burglary, please phone 10111 as well as your local Security Company, so that they can secure your residence. If the break-in has already happened, do not touch anything as this could disturb or even destroy any clues and fingerprints of the perpetrators. The assistance of the public in this regard makes it so much easier for the police to find these criminals.   

There is apparently another SARS E-Filing scam doing the rounds. Targets receive an email from “refund@sars.gov.za” or similar, with the subject line “Tax Refund”. They are directed to a website similar in appearance to SARS’ E-Filing site (as depicted below) and prompted to enter their bank details. This website can quite easily be identified as a fake. Read more on how to identify hoax websites and phishing scams and learn to protect yourself from these criminals.

Note that you should never provide your banking or credit card details unless you are 100% certain it is legitimate and secure. Under no circumstances should you ever have to provide a pin for your card or account.

We received this yesterday from Atlasville.
These vehicles including a blue golf were also in Benoni area last night. They were following vehicles in the streets on their way home. Please keep a lookout for these vehicles and report them immediately if spotted.

"Hi All,
Just to report an incident with, we think, a phoney SAPS Officer attempting to gain access to the property. Incident occurred at 13H00 this afternoon and was a black male in a white golf who insisted on entering the premises at X Owl road to collect a signature and hand over some document to a Mr. X. Maid refused him entry and made him wait whilst she contacted us, we in turn contacted Bokburg North Police station and the duty Superintendent stated they had no one of that description there and his presence was suspicious. The person then drove off.
Please look out for this person.... Additionally our maid and her friends nearby (further down Owl road) reports that there is a red golf cruising aroud the Owl road area, keep a look out......."

There are 2 suspicious vehicles hanging around in Rynfield. They have been noticed especially outside a house in Sarel Cilliers st. near Ebotse entrance.
The vehicles in question are:

• Blue Volkswagen Golf with white occupants and registration number KNT 275 GP
• White Volkswagen golf with white occupants, registration currently unknown, possibly PHP 595 GP

The following information was supplied by the Linden CPF:

The following vehicle "Look Outs" have been issued by Linden SAPS - 17
September 2008:
VEHICLE LOOK OUTS
1) White VW Golf and/or White Mazda Etude. Registration number PNV268GP
or MYB757GP or VDK...GP. Involved in business and residential robberies:
1, 2 or 3 black male occupants. Occupants are armed.

2) Light coloured (light grey, off-white or silver) Opel Kadet.
Registration number of KDX995GP involved in car jackings - - false
plates.

3) Brown / Gold 1980 Mercedes Benz driven by one Indian man, carrying a
suit case inside his car with sweets inside - - moving around schools.

Residents, schools and businesses are urged to be cautious and not take
chances.

GENERAL
4) Criminals CONTINUE to making use of state and municipal vehicles and
uniforms to gain illegal access to properties. These include City Power,
City of Joburg (Valuation, Rates and Taxes) and even Roads Agency
vehicles and uniforms.

Should your property be approached and they are suspicious. Please call
10111.
It is no use going inside to call or check, establish that they are
suspicious and then go back outside again. During the time you are
inside, they most likely will have gained access to your property.
Please inform your domestic workers. These incidents take place during
the day.

The information has been supplied by Linden SAPS and is issued by the
Linden Community Police Forum as a public awareness service to
residents, businesses and schools in the Linden Precinct.

Dear friends..

I would like to share a something with all of you..so that you are more aware of your domestic workers.

Last Friday, (25.07.08) my maid forgot her cell phone at my house. I decided to have a look at the phone...

I found that she has video clips of all the houses that she works at incl. mine. She filmed everything. From room to room, making specific notice to appliances, the TV's, dvd's, sound systems etc.

I was very shocked and surprised to see this. I then went thru the rest of her phone...and found sms confirmations of huge sums of monies being deposited into her account twice in this month.(more than double my salary). What is a domestic worker doing with that amount of money? Cos' the money I pay her is peanuts compared to that.

Our first thoughts were that she probably gets paid for assisting burglars. It is purely murphy's law that she forgot her phone, because my place was filmed on Friday the 25 of July, while I was at work.

So, I don't know what she has been planning and for when, but I am so glad that we found this now.

She also took pictures of our pictures that we have on the fridge and in frames on the walls etc. as well as the intercom behind the door. This I find very strange and suspicious.

She phoned me frantically later that night to tell me to switch her phone off. I have not asked her anything yet.

I have in fact sent the video clips to my phone for proof if we may need it. But I have since changed the locks on my doors and I have asked her to come to my place on Saturday instead of during the week. We plan on confronting her first and then dismissing her.

Another thing I would like to mention is that normally when I talk to her, she has this thing that she can not talk english very well...but on the video clip her english is very good and even her tone of voice is different.

Please be on the lookout for stormwater drain covers being removed. This
is a perfect hideaway for hijackers. Notify the control room immediatly
if you notice this. It could save a life.