Don’t fall for open house scam
People selling their properties are urged to be aware that criminals can gain access to their homes on open days.
BEREA Sector one chair, Des Moodley, has issued a warning to resident of a scam regarding open houses which is currently doing the rounds.
He said people are to be aware that criminals are going to open house viewings, and taking note of the properties.
According to Moodley, a resident who had a house for sale in Kilburn Avenue a few months ago, noticed a silver VW Polo 'crew' which is known in the area for being involved in crime, parked at an open house. He then took the property off the market.
“A few weeks ago the owner found the property was being advertised for rent on Gumtree and someone had notified his agent of this. The person advertising the property had used a fictitious name and noted all details of the property such as fixed appliances, rooms, dimensions of the property and so on,” said Moodley.
He said through research, he discovered people responding to the Gumtree ad were being urged to deposit money for the rental into a money account at Shoprite, and were are then asked to fax to email the number for further details.
“I emailed the man and he said he was out of the country and that his property was up for rental. The criminals then take the deposit for the house and disappear,” he said.
Moodley said these criminals were scouting the area for properties, and open days were ideal opportunities as they were given free access to the house.
“On property sites, people are also given virtual tours of houses. This scam needs to be brought to the community's attention, as it is a multi-million Rand industry,” he said.
