A 72-year-old woman from South Crest says she was threatened with a firearm and robbed of R1 200 after falling victim to an alleged scam at Mall at Newmarket in Alberton on May 9.

According to the victim, the incident started at Food Lover’s Market when a man approached her claiming to work for a brand-name and promoting a competition involving the products.

The woman said the man spoke continuously and tried to gain her trust by mentioning well-known sports personalities such as Lucas Radebe.

“He even mentioned that the promotion is about benefiting white people, as the ANC government only takes care of black people. He couldn’t stop talking. I tried to dodge him but couldn’t,” she said.

The victim explained that after leaving Food Lover’s Market and going to Checkers, the man followed her into the store.

“He asked me to go to the aisle where there are powdered milk products and pick one box and see what’s underneath it. I did that and saw a dollar card,” she said.

According to the woman, the man then told her she had won R5 000 but needed to give him R2 000 first.

“I said I don’t have it, and that’s when he opened his jacket and showed me a gun. I got so scared, and when I looked around, there was a girl packing a shelf and what came to my mind was that if I tried to run, he would shoot, and the poor girl might get injured,” she explained.

The woman said the suspect then forced her to withdraw money from an ATM.

“I went to the ATM and withdrew the money, but I only gave him R1 200 because I still needed money for groceries. He took the money and walked away,” she said.

After the incident, the victim reported the matter to Checkers management.

“When the manager looked at the CCTV footage, she said we looked like a couple and that’s why they didn’t suspect anything. How crazy is that? Okay, we looked like a couple, so what? They didn’t do much to help me,” she said.

“I expected them to go back and check whether this man had scammed other people before, but they didn’t.”

The victim also reported the matter to the centre management and opened a case at Alberton SAPS.

Mall management confirmed they reviewed CCTV footage but said it was unfortunately too late for them to intervene.

Checkers management stated they are willing to assist police with information relating to the investigation but declined to comment on whether similar incidents had occurred before.

When asked whether this type of scam is an ongoing problem at the centre, mall management responded that such incidents happen across South Africa.

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The victim described the suspect as an older white man who was tall, had a plaster near one eye, and was wearing a white T-shirt, black pants, and a cap.

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