ANOTHER con artist, using a very similar modus operandi as the gay con which targeted residents two years ago, has surfaced in Bonaero Park.
Frans and Marietjie Erwin were conned out of R300 by the man, who claimed he was gay and promised them a black forest cake.
The Erwins were approached by the well-dressed man on March 25.
Marietjie said the man told them he lived across the street from them and was robbed the night before. He said he locked all his belongings in the house using a slam gate when the robbers attacked, and thus needed a phone to call his mother.
They let him into their kitchen where he spent about half an hour talking to them.
Marietjie said the man was very convincing. “He had a firm handshake and looked us in the eyes.”
He used their phone to call his mother and had a whole conversation with her. But when the Erwins realised they were conned, they phoned the number, which did not exist.
Marietjie said he asked for some money and they gave him R300.
“He promised us a black forest cake to repay us for our kindness. He was so convincing and entertaining that we did not realise he lied to us until it was too late.”
Marietjie said he told them he was marrying a doctor the following weekend.
They warn Kempton residents not to fall for stories like these and to be wary of any suspicious characters telling sob stories.
Marius Bantjies was in the news in 2012 when he confronted elderly residents, telling them he needed a few hundred rand for petrol, which he said he would return.
He asked to make a call and once inside the house, he would steal cell phones, took the money and never returned.
He was arrested in July 2012 in Glen Marais after a previous victim’s son caught him moments before he entered another person’s house.
He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment in January of 2013.
