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Saint Lucia police have warned citizens to beware of internet car sales scams in which criminals target unwary individuals.
The criminals offer vehicles for sale, invite buyers to a rendezvous to obtain the item, and have held up and robbed the unfortunate victims in several instances.
In one of the latest examples, armed bandits attacked a motorist this week when the man went to meet them at Morne Fortune to complete a vehicle sale in response to their invitation.
The man, who sustained minor injuries, managed to drive off in his black Subaru but collided with another vehicle in his haste to get away while the bandits escaped into nearby bushes.
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A passing police patrol later went in pursuit of the trio.
Appearing on the DBS Television programme Newsmaker Live on Wednesday, Sergeant Shervon Matthieu observed many ‘red flags’ associated with the social media vehicle scams.
By way of example, he observed that the scammers use aliases.
“Why don’t you have a legitimate name? You go onto the page – no photos, only four photos of a motor vehicle. You start talking to the person, the first thing is : ‘Hey, can you send me the documents for the vehicle?’. Do your due diligence first,” Matthieu advised.
“What is your name? Where are you from? What is your contact number? Can I get a copy of the insurance documents for…
