Press Statement For Immediate Release
Tokyo, 17th August 2023—Zambian Ambassador to Japan Dr. Tobias Mulimbika has expressed concern over the escalating cases of online motor vehicle fraud involving the purchase of used Japanese vehicles to Zambia.
Dr. Mulimbika has urged the citizens to conduct thorough due diligence of motor vehicle sellers before making online payments to avoid losing huge sums of money.
He said the Zambian Embassy in Tokyo has recorded an increase in the number of such cases and has attributed the vice to lack of information to the citizens.
The Ambassador says the Embassy may be contacted for verification purposes before making payments unlike after a person has been a victim of fraud.
He said it was regrettable that Zambians have continued to lose large sums of money in such a manner.
“Let people verify details of the sellers to avoid being scammed. It is very difficult to recover the money as most of the purported sellers may not have a verified physical address in Japan and operated off-shore”, he said.
Dr. Mulimbika has further urged the citizens to always conduct online motor purchases through reputable companies that are traceable.
He further urged prospective buyers to always check with the Japan Used Motor Vehicles Exporters Association (JUMVEA), on http://www.jumvea.or.jp for some of the reputable and credible companies regulated by the Ministry of Economy , Trade and Industry of Japan.
He said the Mission has continued to engage the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Interpole on how best such cases may be addressed to promote trade between the two countries.
Issued by Faith Nabeene Chilube
First Secretary Press and Public Relations
Embassy of the Republic of Zambia Tokyo, Japan