Where’s my tractor?

I followed a certain page on Facebook in June that claimed to be selling used tractors in Caledon in Western Cape, South Africa.

I made an enquiry on their Whatsapp line and they responded that they do have it.

A proforma invoice was sent to me on 11th July, 2022 and they told me that tractor would be delivered within 3-4 days. On 12

th July, they confirmed that they had received my payment and would process the export documentation. That was the last time I heard from them.

The amount of money I sent was R85,000 and this was done via bank transfer using FNB online banking.

Now they do not read my Whatsapp chats or answer my calls.

Unfortunately I don’t think I have any good news for you. The bad news is that your money is gone, never to be seen again. You’ve been scammed.

There’s a company with the name you gave me that’s registered in South Africa, but it isn’t registered with the number shown on the invoice you sent. The real company’s registration number is very different. This isn’t just a simple mistake, this is a con. The genuine company is also registered at a very different address to one shown on the invoice.

Their Facebook page is also suspicious. They only offer a cell number and the web site they give hasn’t been set up yet. Also, the domain they’re using was only registered a year ago. The Facebook page offers some very good deals on tractors but these deals are way too good to be believed. I’m no expert on farm equipment but I checked the prices for similar equipment and the prices these guys offer are incredibly low.

This is yet another scam, just like many others we’ve seen before. These scams always offer normally expensive vehicles or equipment at remarkably cheap prices. In fact, they’re nothing more than Facebook pages that anyone can set up.

The lesson for us all is a simple one. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.