Hansel of the Empire Defense Force shared a scam alert TikTok and said she was a victim of the scam.

He said he booked his vehicle in for a fit at a service center in Pinetown. He left his car at the center and when he arrived to pick it up, he was told that his vehicle had been turned over to the person he had sent to pick it up.

Hansel said the service center staff told him they received a call from him asking him to hand over his car to a person named Calvin, who would pick it up on his behalf.

When he told them that he had not made such a call, they were shocked and then realized that they had been deceived.

Of course, there were some gaps in the story, like how the scammer knew his details and the make of his car, but maybe they were following him, or worse, someone from the service center was involved.

He said criminals are targeting vehicle owners in new ways and are focusing on service centers, car washes and dealerships.

It was negligent of the assembly center to hand over his vehicle without first confirming it, but he didn’t share more details about the next steps in finding his car or the legal ramifications.

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