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Whinsley Masara
A MAN from Bulawayo was robbed of a cellphone and forced to reveal his EcoCash pin code which was later used to transfer a total of $375 from his account, at knife point by unknown ‘‘mshikashika’’ robbers.
The suspects are still at large.
In this recent incident, the victim (name withheld), from Nketa suburb, was robbed after he boarded a Honda Fit from Nketa suburb to the city centre.
He was robbed along the way and dumped in a bushy area near Westgate Compound in Sizinda suburb.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango said $255 was transferred to a 45-year-old woman who was approached by the robbers at Chicken Inn near Tredgold.
“Following investigations, the cash-out transactions were traced leading to the arrest of the woman who instead professed ignorance on the matter. The woman said she was approached by men who claimed to be hustling for cash, saying they were bereaved and were in need of cash to travel with the body.
“They took $255 cash from the woman and transferred money to her account since she was able to pay using EcoCash. The other $125 was transferred to a different elderly person before the owner of the account was able to block his sim card at Econet,” she said.
Chief Insp Simango said police are strongly warning the public to desist from boarding unregistered pirate taxis ‘‘mshikashika’’ saying the robbers who now move and operate in groups, were on the prowl and targeting people’s EcoCash funds.
“We have received a number of reports, all with the same modus operandi of robbing passengers of their cellphones and demanding their EcoCash pin numbers which they would then use later to transfer all the funds from their accounts.
“The robbers then target elderly people at some busy points, who expose cash and they offer to pay for whatever their bills using EcoCash for their cash. When the owners of the EcoCash accounts trace their money, it will then be discovered that the money was transferred to an elderly someone,” said Chief Insp Simango.
She said such cases were difficult to handle as nothing more could then be done, putting a dead end to the matter.
Police are advising members of the public to avoid engaging in EcoCash for cash deals as robbers are on the loose, transferring money from stolen accounts, which may result in people losing on their end if the transactions are reversed.
Chief Insp Simango warned members of the public against boarding private vehicles, emphasising that they use only public registered transport such as commuter omnibuses and well labelled taxis.
She said most of these drivers were linked to crimes being committed in the city.
“We advise members of the public to avoid boarding the mshikashika pirate taxis especially when alone at night as most of these pirate taxis are linked to crimes and may be difficult to trace.
“The pirate and usually unregistered private vehicles are the biggest perpetrators of crime and so people should not risk their lives.”
Online Reporter