Bogus officers swindling Gqeberha tourists for ‘toll money’, police warn

Gqeberha police have warned of a scam in which tourists are swindled into handing over their bank cards to pay apparent "toll fees".

Former 702 radio host John Robbie posted on his X account on Monday that he was targeted by allegedly fake police officers, who seem to have mistaken him for a foreign tourist.

“If you hire a car at Gqeberha airport beware! Soon after we did, a VW Golf cut us off and two guys got out in suits with radios & badges, told us they had to activate an e-toll transponder at an ATM. We called out the scam they got aggressive and threatened to arrest me!” Robbie said.

“They obviously had observed us at the car hire company and thought we were foreign tourists and when we told them this was a clear scam they cleared off.”

Robbie said he reported the crime, but when approached for comment, Eastern Cape Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Jansee Van Rensburg said a criminal case had not been opened, to their knowledge.

However, she warned that a few cases with similar modus operandi had been reported in the area.

“In all the cases, the perpetrators were wearing black suits with a badge around their neck with a picture of a South African flag. They would then inform the driver of the vehicle that they need to pay for using the road,” Janse Van Rensburg said.

She added that the perpetrators attempted to lure the victims to areas where they would ask them to insert their bank cards into a machine, which would then swallow the card. Soon thereafter the suspects disappear.

Police said these criminals were specifically targeting tourists visiting Gqeberha, and they were operating around the Summerstrand area.

Police are urging owners of hotels and B&Bs in the area to keep their tourists guests informed of the scam doing its rounds.

IOL