Martin Endjala and Ester Mbathera
Inspector Silas Shipandeni, the Khomas region’s police spokesperson, has cautioned the public to avoid paying or sending money for parcels they have not received.
The Windhoek Observer received complaints from members of the public who paid for parcels that never arrived, prompting him to offer advice.
“Yes, the police, especially in the Khomas region, receive complaints relating to such scams. The advice to the public is that they should avoid paying or sending money for things or parcels they didn’t receive. We understand the logic and the principles of paying a deposit amount for one’s product to be ordered,“ said Shipandeni.
He advised against doing this with just any stranger you meet on social media, but only with someone you know in person and trust.
Several people fell victim to scammers claiming to want to assist them.
Last week, Ndalikulilwa Shaanika received a parcel, supposedly from a friend by the name of Mike, who sent her a parcel from England.
Mike uses a picture of an Arabic-looking man.
In a Google image search, the image came up of Andrei Velcu, a Romanian singer who goes by the stage name Tzanca Uraganul.
Ndalikulilwa received an SMS from a local number, 081 414 1491, claiming to be Linus Eric, a delivery driver from Delta Couriers Services in the United States of America.
Linus tells her that he is at Hosea Kutako International Airport and is about to deliver a parcel.
“There are instructions you must follow and requirements you must meet before the package is delivered. 1. You are required to pay R3000 for customs clearance. 2. You must go to the bank and make the deposit using the account details I will provide you. 3. It is necessary that you send us your complete address to avoid errors,” read the message.
Ndalikulilwa deposited the money into a Nedbank account number that belongs to Lahja Nashipolo Shaanika.
“I don’t know the person. He said he wanted to help me,” said Ndalikulilwa.
When she arrived at the airport last week, there were no Delta Couriers services.
A similar incident happened to Magano Shikongo, who travelled from Luderitz to collect a parcel from a lover she met online.
She too received a parcel that supposedly included money, perfume, flowers, and a wedding outfit, as they were to get married in October.
The same photo of the Romanian singer was used.
Even as she was speaking to the Windhoek Observer, the two were engaging in a conversation via a WhatsApp call.
The man with a heavy Nigerian accent at some point got upset with her when she refused to deposit more money.
“Baby, I no longer want to speak to you. You are making me angry. Just pay the money or get my parcel from the courier,” said the lover.
She was receiving instructions from a local number, 081327 5072, on how she could get the parcel.
Shikongo deposited N$1600 in Anna Mbombo’s Nedbank account. The person who gave her instructions demanded an additional N$3000.
The Windhoek Observer tracked her down and found out that she was a nurse at Rundu district hospital.
“I don’t use that account. I just deposit small amounts of money to pay for the bank charges. I do all my transactions through FNB,” she said.
She said that she was unaware of the use of her account for these purposes.
Shikongo, with the assistance of the Windhoek Observer, opened a police case of theft under false pretence.
The police head of communications, Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi, said it has not received any reports of related scams regarding the ordering of parcels abroad.
The publication understands that several Namibians who are in the business of selling products via purchasing from abroad have fallen victim to scamming.
Ordered parcels fail to arrive.
She clarified, “The national Commercial Crime Investigation Division, responsible for commercial crimes including scams, received no such reports.”
She explained that the division can only pursue such incidents, provided that case numbers are presented for them to follow up on.
Nedbank account holders are said to make the majority of the purchases.
Questions sent to Nedbank’s communications manager, Selma Kaulinge, proved futile at the time of publication.
Given that most of the complainants are Nedbank clients, the Windhoek Observer wanted to find out if the bank has detected any hacking or scamming of its clients’ bank accounts.
