Warning over carjacking trend at SA carwashes
Motorists are being warned about a new carjacking trend that is hitting carwashes in South Africa.
It feels like criminals in South Africa develop new strategies and tactics for targeting unsuspecting victims daily.
The latest carjacking trend is seeing criminals targeting carwashes in the country.
According to BusinessTech, Fidelity ADT has issued a warning over the new trend, warning Gauteng motorists about leaving their cars unattended at carwashes.
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Criminals are reportedly exploiting vulnerable areas, which include specifically the West Rand, where five incidents were reported just last week.
Carwashes have become a popular location for carjacking as motorists often leave their cars unattended or with the keys still inside them.
According to Fidelity, criminals' strategy is relatively straightforward and is shown to be quite effective.
How criminals do it
Thieves know that most people trust the carwash attendants. They often hand over their car keys and leave their cars unattended, which is when criminals strike.
One of their strategies is to pretend to know the owner of the car or are authorised by the owners and claim that they have come to collect the car on behalf of the owner.
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Criminals then simply drive off with the cars.
Another strategy includes thieves simply spotting cars with keys still in their ignition and then seizing those cars.
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