โ ๏ธ URGENT: NEW KIDNAPPING SCAM IN SOUTH AFRICA - PLEASE SHARE โ ๏ธ*
Ladies, please be careful in town, taxi ranks, malls, and parking lots. Thereโs a new method kidnappers are using:
*How the scam works:*
1. *The approach*: A man in a car stops next to you. He calls you by a name or says โHey, get in the car! Weโve been looking for you.โ
2. If you refuse and say you donโt know him, he immediately switches tactics.
He turns to people around and says loud enough for everyone to hear:
_โDonโt worry guys, sheโs my wife. She has amnesia / sheโs mentally ill. She gets confused like this. I just need to get her home.โ_
3. *Why it works*: People donโt want to interfere in โfamily problemsโ or with someone who โhas a mental illness.โ So they look away. Thatโs exactly what heโs counting on. Thatโs how he gets you into the car. Thatโs the strategy
*IF THIS HAPPENS TO YOU:*
- Do NOT get in the car for any reason.
- Be loud and specific*: Yell โ*I DO NOT KNOW THIS MAN. THIS IS KIDNAPPING. PLEASE CALL THE POLICE AND HELP ME.*โ
The word โKIDNAPPINGโ makes people react way faster than โIโm fine.โ
- *Draw attention*: Drop your bags, sit on the ground, scream. Make it impossible for him to look normal.
- *Call for help*
*AS A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC IF YOU SEE THIS HAPPENING:*
- Donโt assume itโs domestic. Donโt walk away, help the victim.
- Step in and ask the Scammer directly*: If they know the person they are trying to take, if they say yes, Ask the lady (victim) to whisper her name to you or the Lady(victim) to show you her IDโฆthen Tell the scammer/kidnapper to tell you the name of that lady(victim) heโs trying to take.โฆ if the scammer gets the name wrong it simply means he was trying to kidnap the ladyโฆ.
- *Call 10111 or SAPS* right away and tell them you suspect a kidnapping.
- *Take details*: Car color, make, license plate, location, what the man looks like. Send to police and share to warn others.
Kidnappers are using our fear of โgetting involvedโ and stigma around mental illness against us. Letโs not let it work.
*Please share this with your sisters, mothers, friends, coworkers, and WhatsApp groups.* One share could save a life.
Stay in groups where you can. Trust your gut. If something feels off, it probably is.
*Emergency numbers for Johannesburg:*
Tshenolopi: +27ย 66ย 472ย 7099
SAPS: 10111 | Ambulance: 10177 | JMPD: 011 758 9650 | GBV Helpline: 0800 428 428
#SouthAfrica #KidnappingScam #WomensSafety #SAPS #StayAlert #TshenoloPI