Cyber crime experts are warning Facebook Marketplace users to perform their transactions where there are CCTV cameras.
This after a couple, who had gone to Crossroads, Nyanga to buy a Playstation 5 that was advertised on MarketPlace, was stabbed and robbed.
The director at Mzansi Blue Media and Events, Gino Solomons, says MarketPlace has become a cesspool for scammers and urged mense to be careful when buying or selling on social media sites, including Instagram and Twitter.
Gino warns: “When you are going to buy online, you’ve got to meet at a public place - I don’t mean restaurant or street corners.
“Go to the nearest shopping mall. If you’re going to be working with large sums of cash, meet in a bank, as the tellers to check the money.
“Never invite someone to meet at your house and never go to theirs either.
“I think another way would be for Facebook to introduce a payment system through a third party where the seller won’t receive their money until the product has been delivered.”
On Saturday, Kraaifontein couple Pieter Loedolff and Angelique Hawkins-Loedolff were attacked in Nyanga, where they had gone to buy a Playstation 5 console.
Angelique says a resident even tried to warn them.
She explains: “It was R4500 marked down to R3850. We communicated with them and made our way to a Crossroads house.
“When we stopped there, a lady came out and showed us to go but it was too late. At least three guys surrounded us.
“One held me at gunpoint and the other one was busy stabbing my husband asking where's the money.
“The more my husband tried to get back in the car, the more they pulled him out and then I laid over the hooter to get neighbours’ attention. They took my phone and then ran away.”
The distraught woman says when they tried to get out of the area, they got lost.
She adds: “My husband was losing a lot of blood, so was losing consciousness. I was shouting at residents to tell me how to get out as well and all they did was look at a person.
“We managed to go to hospital for my husband to be treated of the stab wounds.”
Angelique says she has always heard of Facebook scammers attacking people in Browns Farm, Philippi, but didn’t think they would be driving into a trap in Crossroads, adding: “How we are still alive, I don't know.”
Specialised Security Services (SSS) founder Mike Bolhuis advised mense to research sellers by checking their profile and history, including reviews and ratings, if available.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk says the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation and no one was arrested.
He tells the public not to venture into unfamiliar areas to meet a potential buyer or seller.
The cop urges: “With this warning, SAPS by no means discourage people from making use of online advertising platforms, but to exercise caution when doing so, to prevent becoming a criminal’s next victim.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za