Katlego Sekhu
A worrying new crime trend has emerged in South Africa: victims are being kidnapped and coerced, often under the threat of violence, into making transfers from their banking apps, often stripping them of all their savings or completely looting their other accounts.
Crime analyst Dr. Chris De Kock joined 959 Breakfast to share some insights on this type of crime.
According to De Kock, in some cases, the hijackers don’t even take the car. Instead, they use the vehicle to kidnap their victims and then abandon them along with the car in a different location.
These kidnappings have seen a significant increase over the past four years.
“There has been an increase of over 50 percent in kidnappings. In some cases, they might have some inside information that the victim has a lot of money, and in other cases, it might just be a ransom. They might see someone driving a luxury vehicle and assume that he or she might have a lot of money.”
So, how can individuals protect themselves from falling victim to this type of crime? Dr. De Kock suggests that the banking industry needs to take a closer look at the issue and explore possible measures to mitigate the risks. “At the present moment, we are very vulnerable. If you are kidnapped and are forced to transfer money, what else can you do?”
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