Gauteng Premier, David Makhura has cautioned car buyers to be very careful when buying cars online, as there are many online scammers that are looking for unsuspecting car buyers to take advantage of.

Speaking at a roadblock in Duduza, Ekurhuleni, which formed part of this week’s operation O Kae Molao on Thursday, 17 October 2019, Premier Makhura, urged motorists to websites and avoid falling prey to online car sale scams.

One of the victims of such scams is Bonginkosi Khoza, a young Gert Sibande TVET College student, who was stopped at the roadblock and found to be in possession of a stolen car.

“I did not know the car was stolen. I bought it on the internet on OLX. I urge people who want to buy cars to go straight to a dealership or garage at least if you encounter problems with the car, you can go back to them. The internet is not safe,” said Khoza.

“Some people are not aware that they are victims of cyber-crime, until long after the transaction has taken place and it is difficult to trace cyber criminals” said Premier Makhura.

Makhura also added that operation O Kae Molao continues to make noticeable gains in the fight against crime in the province. This week’s operation alone, led to the arrest of 718 suspects across Gauteng.

“We want to say to those committing these crimes we are looking for you, you are not going to be on the run for long. We are working together with the criminal justice system to ensure the conviction rate is increased.

“It is not enough to arrest criminals, but we must also ensure they are brought to book by sending them to jail. Every crime in our province is the focus, crimes that are making our province unsafe,” said Premier Makhura.

Source: Gauteng Province