YET another conman smooth-talked his way through a false story to rob his victim of money.
Glen Marais resident, Pearl De Nysschen (65), was robbed of R3 000 and her cellphone on Tuesday morning at about 10.35am.
This time, a smartly-dressed black man, named “Brian”, was the culprit.
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De Nysschen was outside her home on Monument Road with paramedics helping a homeless man who was ill, giving the conman an opportunity to make a quick buck through foul play.
“He must have slipped into my yard. My nanny said she first saw him at the front door,” she said.
Wearing a smart black suit and dark shirt, the well-dressed man introduced himself as Brian and told De Nysschen he was from a social welfare organisation that helped homeless people.
Conveniently so, he was concerned about the homeless man being treated by paramedics and wanted to find out more regarding his condition and how he could “help” him.
De Nysschen sat down with him at her kitchen table and listened to his story. On the table was her wallet containing R3 000 cash to install a new Wendy house, her cellphone and her spectacles.
“He said he wa from a welfare that helps homeless people and provided shelter for them. He was very convincing, so believable. He even gave me a cellphone number that I should call if I needed to speak to him. He then asked for some water,” De Nysschen explained.
Not knowing this was “Brian’s” way of doing his dirty work, De Nysschen went to the fridge to get the water.
“This was when he must have taken the money from the wallet and my cellphone, because the next thing I knew he was on a phone call, apparently with someone from work and they needed him back at the office immediately. He quickly asked me to show him where the homeless man was,” she said.
De Nysschen has since called the police several times but nobody had come by 2pm that afternoon.
De Nysschen would like to warn other residents to be extra careful and not to fall victim to this fraudster. Needless to say, the number she was given by him belongs to someone else.
“Brian” is tall, dark in complexion, big-built and looked like “a real gentleman”.
