Con artists use Gumtree for Sun City scams

Holiday-makers have been warned against booking rentals via classified websites OLX and Gumtree after people were conned into paying for bogus accommodation at Sun City.

At least seven families were scammed out of between R8,000 and R12,000. But Sun International suspects there may be more cases.

Group brand and communications general manager Michael Farr yesterday told The Times that people had arrived at the premium resort’s Vacation Club and realised their reservation numbers had been duplicated.

“In four cases, guests had already checked in using the same reservation number,” he added.

According to Farr, fraudsters acquired reservation numbers from timeshare owners under the premise that they would like to buy the time in the units from them.

Upon agreeing to the sale, the reservation number is immediately placed on the website, effectively allowing the fraudulent party to sell timeshares they do not own.

The fraudsters used names such as “Muhammed Omar” from “Perfect Getaways”, and “Ridwan Cassim” from “Summer Vacations” or “GMX Agency”.

Both Gumtree and OLX removed the bogus adverts from their respective websites following a forensic audit was conducted to verify the fraudulent adverts from the real ones.

Gumtree spokesman Estelle Nagel said though the fraudulent adverts were taken down, monitoring the legitimacy of each advert was “extremely difficult” as many people who advertised were real.

Last week, Gumtree installed a notification system which serves as an early warning system and links users to articles or blog posts that highlight specific issues.

Added Nagel: “All Vacation Club adverts posted on Gumtree will be manually checked to ensure they are verified with Sun International from now on”.

Farr further urged Vacation Club members to keep their membership details and reservation numbers confidential, and to not post them on any websites or classified advert media, to help prevent fraud.

WHAT TO DO:

Victims are encouraged to open a case with the police, and send a detailed email (with the case number) to Sun International at suncity.svc@suninternational.com. Suspicious adverts can be reported on 011 780 7800.

SCAMS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

• Fake lotteries, sweepstakes and competitions with automatic entry;
• Fortune left by an overseas relative;
• Overpayment claim with refund request;
• Brokerage fees or import duties to get items into the country;
• Make a fortune working from home;
• 419 scams; and
• Pet shipping scams.

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