A syndicate pretending to be owners of various flats in the city has scammed people out of thousands of rand. The victims were made to believe that a man who goes by the name of Thapelo Wiseman is the owner and will offer them a discount on their monthly rent.

It is unknown how many people the syndicate has managed to scam, because some of them have not reported the matter to the police.

According to the reports Lowvelder received, it is difficult to track these scammers because they use different numbers and always have an excuse as to why they cannot meet clients face-to-face. The newspaper was informed of these incidents by an agent with which this syndicate claims to be working.

Bernadine Swanepoel of Kellaprince Properties has even received death threats from these scammers.

After having initially struggled to open a case, Swanepoel finally managed to do so on Tuesday March 23.

“I now live in fear for my life due to these people who are angry at me for exposing their scams. They called our offices and made it clear that they would kill me.

This comes after we approached one of the banks regarding an account that had been used to transfer money to them by one of their victims,” she explained.

According to Swanepoel, she noticed that something was wrong when she started receiving numerous phone calls from clients requesting keys for flats she was advertising.

“These people managed to get my details on the Internet. They pretended to be looking for accommodation and requested photos from me which they then shared on different well-known property sites. They put a lower price compared to what we charge.

“They do this so that the public will choose a cheaper amount for the same space. I realised all of this after talking to the clients who had been scammed and those who were almost scammed. Some victims have sent me screenshots of the conversations and the pictures that they gave the clients are those that they received from me. I checked the numbers on my phone and one matches with one of the numbers they had used to contact the clients,” she said.

Swanepoel is concerned about the money that the customers have lost. She urged those who have not come forward to go to the police. “This might help the SAPS during their investigations.” A young man of Secunda and his parents were robbed of R9 000 by these scammers.

On Sunday a member of the public shared a post on social media regarding someone seeking accommodation. The post described how this family had driven all the way from Secunda with furniture to Mbombela believing that their son would move into his new place as they had made a payment in advance. The mother told Lowvelder that she is a very careful person, but does not understand how she had missed this one.

“We lost the money and my son needs a place to stay, so right now I want to focus on that. I believed it was legit, but now we have to start all over again looking for accommodation for him since he has been accepted at an academy,” she said. The woman struggled to open a case in Mbombela, but was successful in doing so in Secunda.

Another victim told the newspaper that he had paid “Thapelo” R6 800   “They took my entire salary and now I have to move out of my current accommodation at the end of the month. I need the money back and I have no idea how I will survive.

This guy robbed me and made me believe that I will have a place of my own. I hope the police find them and hopefully get our money back,” he explained.

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The Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brig Leonard Hlathi, said the SAPS are aware of these scammers and would investigate the matter.

According to Hlathi, the public needs to be extremely vigilant as people are constantly looking for new ways to rob citizens of their money. “These people are smooth talkers. They can make one believe that they are the real deal. We want the public to avoid deals and offers that look too good to be true. For instance, accommodation in Mbombela is not cheap, so if you see a cheap offer most of the time it is a scam.

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“When you are accepting offers for accommodation, do not be too hasty to deposit money. First investigate the person or ask them to meet you at the police station. Ask them questions face-to-face at the station in front of the SAPS. This is because most scammers prefer to communicate via WhatsApp. This applies to everything you see advertised online,” he explained. Hlathi added that if you find yourself in a situation like this, to report the matter to the police immediately.