Women fall victim to con artists

MBOMBELA – Anderson Street recently made headlines due to illegal activities which turned out to be a normal part of life, such as prostitution, illegal gambling, as well as the selling and smuggling of drugs.

Mpumalanga News learnt that a con artist, known as “Emasalamusi” surfed the street last Friday and a 32-year-old woman became a victim of the scam. “I was window-shopping and a man estimated to be in his early 40s, introducing himself as Job the prophet, approached me in one of the shops.

He started to tell me about my problems – some of the things were true and they were happening in my life. That led me to pay more attention to him as I believe in God and prophecy.

“So I told him we should meet outside where he continued to foretell my future. “As I was in such a hurry, I wanted to take his contact number. That was the last straw because when I took out my cellphone, I was in for a very big shock.

“As I opened my bag, I discovered that my wallet was open and the R1 900 that was inside, was gone. All that was left were my bank cards. The man then sped off,” said a distraught Ms Nosibusiso Khoza of Kamdladla in Nkomazi.

A female sales assistant on the very same street, who wanted to remain anonymous, confirmed that this type of scam was rife in that part of town and that most targets were women.

“It is not a new thing for one’s money to disappear after talking to some of these people. “You need to be wise when walking in town as you will be provoked into talking to someone who will come from behind and touch you.

That is when their black magic starts functioning by making your money disappear. “Most victims are women,” she said. Pastor Samuel Shongwe of Pillar of Fire Ministry in Msogwaba and also a member of the South African Council of Churches, condemned the incidents, “It is totally wrong to rob people of their hard-earned money.

“I urge people always to pray silently when they walk around town so that they may be protected since we are living in difficult times.”