A con artist is said to be operating in the Bruma and Cyrildene areas.
A Bruma resident, Mrs Jeann Kouvvis, said a man in his mid 20s arrived at her door on Friday, June 5.
The man knocked on her door shortly after 7pm and asked for money.
“The man told my husband, son and I, that he was originally from the Congo. He said he is a university student and that his parents come and go back to the Congo and that they are selling paintings,” she said.
Mrs Kouvvis said the man told them he had arrived home from university and had found his sister upset because her twins were ill.
“He told us his sister and the children were at the Bedford Clinic. According to him, the clinic would not attend to the children unless they paid R300 for each child. He told us a dentist staying in our road had given him R200. He was so convincing that we agreed to give him R400 from the money I had saved to buy a washing machine,” she said.
She said the following day she learnt that the same man had asked for money from a relative who stays in Cyrildene.
“The con artist arrived during the day. He said his sister was suffering from malaria and that he needed money. My relative had to go to the bank to withdraw R300, as he had no money on him,” said Mrs Kouvvis.
She emphasised that the man is a convincing con artist.
“I like to believe I am street-wise. I also watch lots of documentaries on scammers around the world. But this man is good. He target the vulnerable with lies of sick children and a sick woman.
“I later realised that R300 per child was too little to pay for admission to a private hospital,” said Mrs Kouvvis.
Know your neighbour
Mrs Kouvvis said not knowing her neighbours had an impact on her judgement.
“I know my immediate neighbours but not the others. It was easy for me to believe his lies when he said the dentist had given him money,” she said.
The Cleveland SAPS communications officer, Constable Mpho Mashakane, urged people to report cases to the police when they are conned.
“Some people do not report these cases. It is vital to report them. He might not get arrested now, but when he is arrested he may be linked to other cases including yours. This may help us to build a stronger case,” said Const Mashakane.
She said there is no time frame to report a case like this.
“As long as there is still proof that you were conned, you can report it,” she said.
