Fidelity SecureDrive has added its voice to other major vehicle tracking companies reports this week about a new car theft scam in South Africa that appears to be targeting high-end cars.
Wahl Bartmann, Group CEO for Fidelity Services Group confirmed this week that while they have not received any reports from SecureDrive customers to date, there does appear to be evidence of a scam impacting the industry generally and advised motorists to stay alert.
“Our procedures are very tight and once an appointment has been secured, our teams will always arrive in a fully branded vehicle and clothing, with identification. Where we use subcontractors, customers are urged to always confirm the identity of anyone requesting access to a vehicle. Our technicians will also never request to test drive a vehicle, or ask to drive with a customer to test the installation. This should be a major red flag for a customer, and in these instances they need to report the incident to SecureDrive immediately.”
Many of these fraudsters sound very plausible and Bartmann says the wisest decision is always rather to call the company in question back and verify the appointment and the validity of anyone claiming to be from that company. The same would apply to emails received from that company.
“We will watch the situation carefully and advise our customers to remain alert. If we detect any unusual requests we will act immediately,” concludes Bartmann.
