KEMPTON police are warning the community about a popular money scam which is once again making a return.
The scam, which sees people robbed of their money, allegedly involves the victim being drugged with an unknown substance, which causes them to pass out.
This comes after a 63-year-old man laid a complaint with police on October 6 saying that he was scammed out of R17 000, allegedly by two women.
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Kempton police spokesperson Capt Jethro Mtshali said the man was allegedly approached by two female suspects on West Street in Kempton CBD.
Scam artists, operating mostly in the CBD area, identify a victim they have seen coming from an ATM. They then drop cash in front of their victim, who sees it and tries to pick it up.
“As the victim picks it up, the suspects appear out of nowhere and claim to have also seen the money. They suggest they all go to a secluded place and share the cash,” Mtshali explained.
“Suddenly other suspects appear in a vehicle and claim to be police officers. They convince the victim to get into their vehicle and offer the victim a drink laced with an unknown substance which results in the victim passing out,” Mtshali said.
In this case, the 63-year-old victim alleges that while walking on West Street he noticed money on the ground.
“As he was about to pick it up, two females emerged and claimed that they also saw the money and suggested they go and share it somewhere. Suddenly an unknown vehicle came by and its occupants claimed to be police officers. They convinced him to get into the vehicle,” said Mtshali.
Whilst being driven around in the car, the victim allegedly fell asleep and woke up at about 2pm to find he had been dumped in a veld in Kempton, and that’s when he realised that all his belongings and R7 000 cash was missing. Later, he checked his cellphone and discovered that a further amount of R10 000 was withdrawn from his account.
A case of common robbery is currently under investigation and police are warning the community to be aware and not be victims of the same scam.
Anyone with information regarding this scam should call 08600-10111 or SMS the Crime Line on 32211.
